
Glass. 
Book. 



•^/ 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI STUDIES 

VOLUME III, NUMBER 3 

SOCIAL SCIENCE SERIES 

George Leeevre, Editor 

CHILDREN BORN OUT OF 
WEDLOCK 

A Sociological Study of Illegitimacy, With Particular 
Reference to the United States 

By 

George B. Mangold, Ph. D. 

Director of the Missouri School of Social Bconomy 
University of Missouri 




UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI 

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI 

June, 1921 



CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI STUDIES 

VOLUME III, NUMBER 3 

SOCIAL SCIENCE SERIES 

George Leeevre, Editor 

CHILDREN BORN OUT OF 
WEDLOCK 

A Sociological Study of Illegitimacy, With Particular 
Reference to the United States 

By 

George B. Mangold, Ph. D. 

Director of the Missouri School of Social Economy 
University of Missouri 




UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI 

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI 

June, 1921 






UQfWKY OF CONGRESS 
RECEIVED 

0CT11192I 

DOCUMENTS OIViaiON 



CONTENTS 

Page 
Introduction 1 

Bibliography 196 

Index 203 

CHAPTER I 
Illegitimacy in the United States 14 

CHAPTER II 
Causes and Conditions Underlying Illegitimacy 36 

CHAPTER HI 
Commercial Agencies for the Care of Mothers 80 

CHAPTER IV 
Philanthropic and Public Agencies 92 

CHAPTER V 
The Outcome for the Child : 115 

CHAPTER VI 
Age of Consent 134 

CHAPTER VII 
Legislative Reform 145 

CHAPTER VIII 
Prevention 184 



(VII) 



PREFACE 

During the last twenty-five years two books dealing 
with Illegitimacy have been written in the English language. 
Little has been known about the situation in America and 
social workers until recently have given the subject scant 
consideration. But times have changed and this problem can 
no longer be ignored. Realizing this fact investigators in 
various localities have made short surveys and have contrib- 
uted to the literature on the subject. In addition to these 
surveys two valuable studies have been made by the Federal 
Children's Bureau, one entitled '^Illegitimacy Laws of the 
United States and Certain Foreign Countries," the other, 
''Illegitimacy as a Child Welfare Problem." Both of these 
reports present excellent information relating to the problem 
in the United States. By means of this study the author 
hopes to increase the interest now manifested in this im- 
portant question. He is anxious particularly to present in- 
formation concerning causes and present methods of treat- 
ment. A condition which results in almost as many illegiti- 
mate children annually as there are divorces is worthy of 
serious study. 

What are we doing to ascertain and interpret the causes 
of this evil? Are we dealing effectively with mother and 
child? How about the father? How successful has been our 
remedial legislation? Have we an adequate preventive pro- 
gram in consideration? These and other questions suggest 
themselves. We must, therefore, face this problem fearless- 



(IX) 



ly, resolve the causes into their individual and social ele- 
ments as far as possible, and then build up a permanent con- 
structive program. 

This book does not pretend to accomplish these ends. 
It recognizes the need of additional case study and of more 
conclusive statistics relating to many aspects of the problem. 
If, however, it can indicate some forward steps, the author 
will be content. Too long have we waited on each other ; too 
long have we refused to consider impartially the broader hu- 
man phases of illegitimacy and the attitude which society 
must take towards the men, women and children involved. 
Whatever can be done to meet such needs will represent an 
important gain. 

George B. Mangold. 



(X) 



INTRODUCTION 



Not until a few years ago was it possible to discuss sex 
problems in public and before mixed gatherings. The topic 
of illegitimacy was tabooed and people dared to talk only in 
whispers about evidence of immorality and vice. Even to- 
day such words as ''prostitute," "illegitimate," "bastard" and 
similar expressions can with difficulty find a place in our 
daily newspapers. Nevertheless, a tremendous change has 
taken place in the popular mind. Everywhere individuals 
are beginning to speak more freely on some of these forbid- 
den subjects. Social workers in particular have recognized 
the need of sound public opinion in order that some advance 
might be made in the solution of sex problems. Investiga- 
tions of various kinds have therefore been instituted and a 
pamphlet literature on illegitimacy and allied topics has be- 
gun to accumulate. The great world war has accentuated the 
problem. In Europe the volume of illegitimacy, as will ap- 
pear later, is dangerously great; moreover, with the out- 
break of the war, motives, impulses and tendencies were lib- 
erated which have, no doubt, increased the irregular rela- 
tions which before were already altogether too common. Our 
own illegitimacy rate has been rather low and the problem as 
a whole has not given the social worker much serious con- 
cern. However, certain social agencies have been forced to 
deal with the unmarried mother and her friendless child and 
have begun to realize the growing gravity of conditions in 
the United States. Furthermore, the entrance of our country 
into the great struggle between democracy and autocracy 
focused the eyes of thousands, who had not thought of the 
problem before, on the moral dangers which usually accom- 

(1) 



2 University of Missouri Studies 

pany the abnormal functioning of so large a proportion of the 
population. Many social agencies have tried to prepare them- 
selves to meet the new situation and an active campaign has 
been organized among young women to insure their moral 
protection. 

It is to be hoped that measures of this kind will prevent 
any considerable increase in the amount of illegitimacy but 
whatever be the results without doubt attention has been 
called to this question in so emphatic a way that the lesson 
will never be forgotten and as a consequence there will de- 
velop a new and saner program for the care of the illegitimate 
child. 

In the past the world has always tolerated a double 
standard of morals. This has especially oppressed the sex 
that could not defend itself in a contest of physical powers. 
The male has usually been the aggressive, and the female the 
passive, sex. Nevertheless, gross deviations by the former 
from the path of sex rectitude have received but little con- 
demnation, while a slight error of woman has usually been 
visited with the swiftest and most condign punishment. The 
original sex standards were largely a man-made product. 
Woman had but little share in shaping these standards and 
she accepted them without much protest. Eventually she ap- 
plied them in most rigid manner and as a consequence the 
so-called fallen woman has become an outcast while the equal- 
ly guilty man has remained in good social standing. 

Man has long tried to teach woman the beauty of wom- 
an's virtue. The old Roman father plunged his knife into 
his daughter's heart rather than see her virtue stained. Ja- 
cob's sons spoiled a city because their sister sold her virtue to 
Shechem. The ancient German jealously guarded the virtue 
of his daughters and taught them the lesson of purity ; wher- 



4 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 3 

ever Teutonic ideals have taken root, chastity of woman has 
become almost as dear as life itself. 

Society has always struggled with the self-centered mo- 
tives of individuals and has found it especially difficult to 
temper the selfishness of the male. The noble Roman did 
not shrink at the thought of destroying the virtue of a bar- 
barian's daughter or even of a helpless Roman woman. Is- 
rael's sons did not respect the virtue of Canaan's daughters. 
The German was not as true to his neighbor's daughter as 
to his own. Had the male applied to himself a small part 
of the austere morals he demanded of the other sex, our his- 
tory would tell a different story and our morals would be of 
different character. But the coercion which man exercised 
was never matched by a similar coercion from woman, and 
the standards of today condone in man what they hold un- 
pardonable in woman. The unmarried mother silently bore 
the burden of her transgressions and as an outcast completed 
a life full of despair. Few were left to mourn her loss or de- 
parture. Her sins had blackened her soul beyond cleansing 
and no one could afford to suffer the degradation which com- 
panionship with her would inevitably impose. Dishonored, 
she sank into a forgotten grave. 

In recent years, however, her claims on life and on human 
compassion have gradually received a new consideration. In- 
stead of being branded with the scarlet letter on her breast 
and placed in the pillory on the public square, she has in some 
cases obtained a second opportunity and, occasionally, fair 
treatment. In literature, maternity unsanctioned by the law or 
the church has pleaded for the mercy that ennobles the hu- 
man breast, and gradually in law the unmarried mother has 
gained new rights. Sentiment, the supreme court of public 
opinion, however, has not reversed its decision nor seriously 
modified its implications and today the forbidden step still 
leads to human desolation and the wilderness of buried hope. 



4 University of Missouri Studies 

And yet, not entirely. The dawn of a new day is at hand and 
is slowly giving way to justice. This movement has com- 
pelled men to become introspective. Is not sin equally black 
whether committed by male or female? Has sin a sex? Is 
it peculiar to woman? Questions such as these haunt vir- 
tuous and socially minded men to whom the unfairness of 
today makes its invincible appeal, and to whom the bitterness 
that envelops a betrayed woman's soul engenders a sense of 
outraged Justice. Slowly, men will rise above themselves and 
say "we too have sinned." Why do we throw stones? Slow- 
ly, men begin to see the injustice which ruins one sex but ex- 
cuses the other. Accordingly, a change is gradually taking 
place which will not make morality among women less desir- 
able, although a greater opportunity for restoration to society 
will be given, but which will subject the sexua^y immoral 
male to such disgrace and reprobation that the humiliation 
will act as a powerful deterrent. 

In other words, moral standards among women are not 
to be lowered, but standards among men will rise until the 
two intersect and a common ground will be reached. The in- 
creased rights and opportunities of woman are partly respon- 
sible for this movement. When woman was unfit for educa- 
tion, for professional life, for public service, and was usea 
chiefly as a beast of burden, for rearing children and for sex^ 
gratification, her rights were precariously few. But the grad- 
ual emancipation of woman brings with it not only a release 
from galling handicaps in industry, science and education^ 
but it also forces a reconsideration of the double standard of 
morals. 

The social wrong of today lies not so much in the severe 
penalty imposed upon the offending woman, but on the com- 
parative immunity granted the more blameworthy men. The 
young man falls in love with a virtuous girl ; they promise tOi- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 5 

marry; she is persuaded to yield her body; he repudiates 
the woman he has deceived and her maternity is buried in dis- 
grace. She becomes an outcast, his sin is soon forgotten ; he 
marries another woman or ruins some fresh and innocent girl. 
Is it any wonder that in this age of unrest, when justice is be- 
ing enthroned, that the women denounce a system which 
treats them so harshly and relentlessly? 

It is evident that public sentiment concerning illegiti- 
macy has been shaped by the operation of several important 
factors. The female sex must bear the young. Woman must 
carry the physical evidences of approaching maternity and 
cannot hide the evidence of her shame. The finger can always 
be pointed at her because her guilt cannot remain undiscov- 
ered, but the equally guilty man can easily escape, since no 
one but the unfortunate woman herself knows his identity. 
Pregnancy and child birth label the woman. Next follows the 
handicap of caring for the child or the disagreeable task of 
disposing of it. Illegitimacy, therefore, imposes on woman a 
special burden and her marriageability, as well as economic 
and social usefulness, is affected thereby. 

Consequently, the natural and almost inevitable effect 
of illegitimacy has been disgrace to woman. Undoubtedly 
this result is partly responsible for the high standards applied 
/ to women both by themselves and the opposite sex. If im- 
morality is so baneful in its physiological and economic con- 
sequences, then it is most unsocial and cannot be too strongly 
condemned. The physiology of sex is, therefore, one of the 
natural, but not necessarily persistent, causes of a double 
standard of morals. The handicaps of a woman with her 
baby, the comparative immorality, the difficulty in maintain- 
ing a livelihood and other correlated conditions have proven 
a great disadvantage. 

The second factor was the physical superiority and greater 
mobility of man. It was difficult to impose penalties on man as 



6 University of Missouri Studies 

it was almost impossible to prove paternity; hence, few men 
would be disgraced and the disgrace that was attached to a. 
man was soon forgotten. He did not carry with him the 
evidences of his misconduct. People were not constantly re- 
minded of his sin; and therefore an ignorant community 
soon forgot to associate a certain man with the offense and 
and its consequences. Or a guilty man might flee to some 
distant locality and begin life anew without being followed 
by public knowledge of his misdeeds. Without the physical 
brand of wrong-doing on his person his escape from respon- 
sibility has been comparatively easy. 

That the double standard of today is, in part at least, the 
natural outcome of utilitarian conditions that constantly 
shape morals is without question. In a society where fore- 
sight was slight, solidarity largely absent, and conscious 
planning in a primitive state, the double standard arose as 
the inevitable result of the requisites of social survival and 
individual happiness. Consequently, law and religion both 
sanctioned the differences that existed in the respective treat- 
ment of offending men and women. The disparity of condi- 
tions in the twentieth century is a survival of the coercion 
of the ages. It represents the codified results of past exper- 
ience and the conservation of a principle that once protected 
t/women from the tendency to practice unlawful sex relations. 

In the light of history shall we then say that the double 
standard must remain for all time? Is it not true that the 
rights and opportunities of women have always been sub- 
ordinated to those of men? Yet the woman's movement has 
in less than one hundred years gained for women results more 
remarkable than had been achieved in all previous history. 
Has not the superstition that woman must be subordinated 
and discriminated against been largely destroyed? Has wom- 
an not gained the right to education, to a professional career, 
to voluntary celibacy, to greater freedom of movement, to 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 7 

greater privileges before the law, and, in some countries, to 
the right to participate in the affairs of government and to 
a living wage? Without doubt, the social and political eman- 
cipation of women is proceeding at a most rapid rate although 
the gains are all of comparatively recent time. The differ- 
ence in standards of morals is evidently a case in sex discrim- 
ination and is not the only form of discrimination that has 
existed. The existence from time immemorial of other dif- 
ferences has not proven their basic or inherent character. In 
fact, many of these are already destroyed. We cannot, there- 
fore, conclude on the basis of analogy, that the double stand- 
ard of morals is either ineradicable or inevitable. Its social 
coercion may not be more persuasive than that of other ex- 
tinct forms of discrimination. 

In this age when all forms of injustice are attacked and, 
if possible, reduced or destroyed, the double standard of mor- 
als must submit to a new examination of its merits, and if not 
based on fundamental conditions of social welfare, its appeal 
will fail. Illegitimacy must always bear more heavily on 
women than on men since the fundamental nature of male- 
ness and femaleness necessitates this difference. If the indi- 
vidual effect were the true basis for the moral standard, then 
the exactions demanded of woman must be more severe than 
the requirements imposed on men. The social effect how- 
ever, is the more important influence and must determine 
standards. Is our social welfare best promoted by a uniform 
standard or by one that discriminates against woman? Do 
the factors that once operated to produce a dual standard 
still continue in force? Or have they been replaced by new 
considerations? One factor of great importance cannot be 
passed over without emphasis on its far-reaching influence. 
It is the power of human passion. Is it equal in the sexes or 
unequal? If equal, then why the great excess of male im- 
morality? If unequal, is the difference inherent or due to 



8 University of Missouri Studies 

conditions that can be modified? The author does not pro- 
pose to offer the last word on this subject. He does insist 
that it has a tremendous bearing on the problems of a single 
standard of morals. So-called virtue is of two varieties ; that 
which results in good actions, no temptations to evil being 
present, and that which overcomes temptation and triumph- 
antly presents the good. To what extent is the virtue of 
woman a victory of mind over body? To what extent in 
man? This important question is receiving much attention 
today, and advanced advocates of social hygiene insist that 
''sex necessity" is false doctrine and that perfect continence 
is possible. This argument is, of course, advanced to apply 
to the great bulk of males, to all except a few who are per- 
verts. That a large proportion of men are moral is undoubt- 
edly true, but the problem relates itself to those, whether a 
minority or the majority, who have not remained moral. Are 
they capable of self-restraint? If so, even though it be more 
difficult than in the case of woman, incontinence can be wiped 
out and illegitimacy and prostitution eliminated. A higher 
ideal will inevitably bring severer condemnation on the of- 
fending male and a nearer apporach to a uniform standard of 
morals. Greater self-control, increased capacity for self-con- 
trol and improved social conditions will surely work in the 
direction of a single standard of morals. 

More and more the welfare of humanity must be ex- 
pressed in terms of mental joy and satisfaction. With the in- 
creasing recognition of woman's right to happiness it de- 
pends in greater measure than ever before on high ideals and 
good morals. In the near future women will not overlook 
immorality among their male friends and finally marry sex- 
ually tainted men. The woman of tomorrow cannot respect 
the man ''with a past." Happy homes cannot be founded on 
a dual standard. So long as women were ignorant, the men- 
ace to the homes was slight, but with the intellectual emanci- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 



9 



Jl 



pation of women must come the collapse of the old system 
and the introduction of an equality which will force men to 
standards similar to those men have enforced on women. 

The highest form of mutual respect cannot exist where 
dual standards are maintained. Again, the attitude of par- 
ents toward children is more wholesome when the parents 
thoroughly respect each other. Sons will receive better guid- 
ance and daughters will be taught to demand clean compan- 
ions. Wifehood, motherhood and childhood all plead for a 
uniform level of morals. 

Decades must pass, however, before the attitude toward 
men will be identical with that toward women. But so long 
as it differs, so long men are logically compelled to regard 
illegitimacy, immorality and prostitution as tolerable, and 
their female victims as inevitable sacrifices to the lust of men. 
Nevertheless, logic does not control and immoral women are re- 
viled and become social outcasts. If the double standard is 
necessary then these women should receive the respect due 
to any group that performs a public service. 

That the social consequences of illegitimacy are disas- 
trous admits of no serious doubt. That men are more aggres- 
sive than women and also more blameworthy is, furthermore, 
true. From the social point of view, man as the co-partner 
and aggressor is the greater offender and his condemnation 
should be the more severe. His actions cannot be extenu- 
ated ; and a stern standard of morals must be imposed in 
order that deterrent effects may be realized. Society must 
make demands proportionate to the conditions. Therefore the 
standard of morals should bear more heavily on men than on 
women, although the converse is at present the case. 

The sex instinct is present in every normal man and 
woman. The legal opportunity for that instinct to function 
should be gained by all persons some time in life ; that is, 
marriage should be within the range of all normal people. 



10 University of Missouri Studies 

The unmarried, whether men or women, must, to remain mor- 
al, restrain their sex impulses. To do this their energies and 
activities must be directed into other channels and the effect 
ot such diversion must overcome the latent but ever present 
impulse of sex. 

No one has yet informed the world of the width of the 
gap between the normal impulse in man and in woman. Yet, 
our whole program of social hygiene, sex education and treat- 
ment of sexual offenses depends on the answer of this ques- 
tion. Have we ever stopped to realize the effect on mind 
and sex impulse of the slush and filth with which a large pro- 
portion of young boys are bespattered? Have we ever at- 
tempted to weigh the effect of the false ideals taught to our 
youth, of the "manliness" of sex immorality; of the environ- 
ment and coercive habits of adolescence and young manhood? 
Suppose the exact environment of the young girls and women 
with its ban on the individual right of self-expression, of emo- 
tion and sex impulse were imposed on the male sex, what 
would be the effect? 

On the other hand, if our young girls should hear the 
language and thoughts expressed before the youth of our land 
would not an awakening of sex consciousness follow, the 
grave consequences of which would appall the world? Even 
now we find among the neglected and delinquent girls that 
appear before our juvenile courts an astounding mass of 
immorality. Is the girl who lives with her family in a single 
room, where sex faces her constantly, made sexually preco- 
cious, or do her sex instincts slumber on as in the case of 
many "sheltered" girls? There is the utmost need of an ex- 
haustive case study made by competent persons of one or 
two thousand young women capable of interpreting them- 
selves and of linking sex instinct with other emotions and 
impulses. The sexuality of the unmarried woman is hid un- 
der a bushel. She dares not disclose it, yet it surely must be 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 11 

there, and only too often the dread fact of illegitimacy, prosti- 
tution or immorality reveals a condition which should have 
received rational attention instead of being shunned and dis- 
dained because of a mock modesty. The woman has yet to 
appear who will write truthfully and courageously and con- 
structively about her sex and who will open the eyes of the 
world to the sex life of women. Yet without such knowledge, 
we cannot meet our problems and solve them. We can only 
guess and then work in darkness. Nor has the man presented 
himself who has weighed the innate and acquired sex impulses 
of man and woman and who has given us an adequate basis for 
a social program. The physician and physiologists should 
face this question fearlessly and not for the sake of develop- 
ing some particular propaganda whether good or bad. The 
social worker should strive to attain fundamentals. It does 
not necessarily follow that because a young woman has been 
corrupted, laws punishing the guilty man should be regarded 
as a solution of the problem. Nor must we assume that the 
coarse w^oman of the street is an original source of corruption 
and that to punish her solves a problem. The moralist has 
much to learn about sex life. The time to put on moral blink- 
ers or to ignore facts, after the fashion of the ostrich, has 
passed. We need to get upon the solid earth, then determine 
our latitude and ascertain our whereabouts. When the phy- 
siologist, the moralist, the law maker and the social worker 
have properly constructed their fortress of fundamental facts, 
then the task of destroying the various sexual sins can be un- 
dertaken in real earnest and some measure of success will be 
assured. Much time will elapse before this goal will be at- 
tained. Meanwhile, a program of amelioration must be carried 
out; hope restored to women who are hopeless; and a bur- 
den placed on the shoulders of both the man and the woman 
who are partners in an offense against themselves and a sin 
against society. 



12 University of Missouri Studies 

The social consequences of illegitimacy are most disas- 
trous. Both sexes are indispensable to the consummation of 
the offense. The child is innocent and to penalize him repre- 
sents a vicarious sacrifice such as is borne by no other group 
of unfortunates throughout the w^orld. It is a w^rong w^ith 
perhaps no extenuating circumstances. It is impossible to be- 
lieve that injustice to innocent children is necessary in order 
to compel men and women to perform their moral obligations 
and to live morally. 

To penalize w^oman, to disgrace her irretrievably, es- 
pecially in view of the social responsibility for her downfall, 
resembles torturing an animal and then punishing it for its 
writhing. Woman is partly to blame and must bear her part 
of the burden, but she must not be crushed. Without the 
hope of moral rehabilitation the human being sinks to the 
level of brute creation and loses every fine instinct that char- 
acterizes her as human. In our theories of penology we have 
advanced sufficiently to reject entirely punishment for the 
mere sake of justice, to consider its deterrent qualities of min- 
or importance and to make a program of rehabilitation the 
chief consideration. Not so^ however, in the case of illegiti- 
macy. Punishment is drastic and reform hardly attempted. 

As far as they relate to men, our laws are almost helpless 
and public opinion as expressed in the acts of attorneys, judg- 
es and juries still more so. The promotion of social welfare 
requires equal responsibility of the male with the female for 
their illegitimate offspring. The past emphasis on moral re- 
sponsibility does not meet the situation. The blame attached 
has been so light and society has been so forgiving that de- 
terrent effects have hardly been realized. That public action 
must produce such effects is unquestioned. Probably re- 
sults can be most easily achieved by means of enforcing dras- 
tic financial responsibility for illegitimate children. The Na- 
poleonic Code prohibits inquiry into the paternity of such chil- 



r 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 13 

dren and several European countries are still under the spell 
of this iniquitous point of view. Some American states like- 
wise refuse to attach any responsibility to the putative father. 
This is most unjust if it is true that men and women should 
be accorded equal treatment. There should be full inquiry 
into the paternity of all illegitimate children, and then pater- 
nal responsibility should be imposed. The treatment of il- 
legitimacy must be made to accord with the principles that 
determine our social welfare. 

The attitude toward child, mother and father must be 
fixed by this consideration. All laws and methods of punish- 
ment or treatment must be able to answer the question, do 
they work toward the highest moral and social welfare of so- 
ciety? Judged from this standpoint there can be but little 
doubt that disabilities placed on children are ineffective deter- 
rents and hardly promote morals. The energetic handling 
of father and mother, however, should gain results, especially 
if accomplished in such a manner as will discourage a dual 
standard of morals and the tradition that girls are the legiti- 
mate prey of men anxious to sow a few wild oats. When 
we will really apply ourselves earnestly and fearlessly to this 
question we will, no doubt, discover that ignorance and false 
teaching are such decisive factors that preventive work will 
soon outstrip corrective work. That will be a happy consum- 
mation of our efforts ; for it will reduce to a minimum the 
initial sorrow and suffering as well as the amount of subse- 
quent corrective work. It is toward these ends that the social 
reformers must bend their energies. 



CHAPTER I 
ILLEGITIMACY IN THE UNITED STATES 

Illegitimacy is less common in the United States than in 
most of Europe or in the remainder of the civilized world. 
Nevertheless, this nation cannot afford to blind its eyes to 
the conditions that exist, nor can it allow them to become 
gradually worse. It must face the facts and then apply such 
remedies as will be effectual. 

Knowledge of the volume of Illegitimacy in the United 
States has depended almost entirely upon the development of 
systems of birth registration. Our vital statistics have been, 
and still are, grossly inadequate. The need of definite infor- 
mation has not been felt and the usefulness of facts that have 
been collected has not been adequately appreciated. Most 
European countries, even the backward nations, know more 
about the changes and conditions among their population 
than do the people of the United States. The European habit 
of gathering facts resulted from a belief in the vitality of sta- 
tistics ; nevertheless, it is doubtful how much has been ac- 
complished thereby. In the United States so little attention 
has been given to the consideration of various social problems 
that accurate birth registration as a starting point for a pro- 
gram relating to problems of child welfare has been almost 
overlooked. Here the registration of deaths and of diseases 
has but slowly opened the way for other statistics. These 
phenomena are too important to remain unmeasured and the 
bulk of our states have fairly accurate mortality statistics. 
Our decennial census has regularly gathered an unwieldy 
mass of information including sociological material of con- 
siderable importance, but the economic and industrial condi- 
tions have generally received first consideration and the maxi- 
mum of space in the published reports. On the whole the 

(14) 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 15 

American people have not demanded facts about the various 
aspects of their social life, and accordingly the information 
has not been forthcoming. However, the Federal Children's 
Bureau and other organizations as well have begun to empha- 
size this necessity and as a consequence, statistics relating 
to births, both legitimate and illegitimate, will, in the near 
future, be gathered in the majority of states. 

Early Records of Illegitimacy 

The State of Massachusetts was the first American com- 
monwealth to present statistics on illegitimacy, its first fig- 
ures on the subject being reported for the year 1854. How 
serious the efforts were to gain complete birth records can 
hardly be surmised at the present time, but the beginning 
had at least been made. That the problem of illegitimacy re- 
ceived some consideration is evident from a passage in the 
Massachusetts report of 1858, according to which a girl aged 
ten years, eight months and seven days had given birth to a 
baby boy weighing eight pounds. The baby was born in an 
almshouse and at eighteen months weighed 37^ pounds. In 
the same year out of 293 illegitimate births recorded, 75 oc- 
curred in three almshouses of the state. For more than forty 
years Massachusetts annually published the statistics on il- 
legitimacy and for many years it gave figures for various 
counties, but owing to the gradually growing volume of in- 
formation presented in registration reports a demand arose 
for the elimination of the least important statistics. Accord- 
ingly, the figures relating to illegitimate births were omitted, 
the report for 1895 being the last to list them.^ That this in- 
formation was not used for practical purposes is quite evi- 

^Rates may be computed in one of the following ways: 
I. Absolute rates, expressed in terms of quantity of the popu- 
lation, or a part thereof. In the group are included: 

1. Rate of illegitimacy among a given population. This 
method of computation is usually unsatisfactory because it does 
not consider differences in the demographic conditions of social 



16 University of Missouri Studies 

dent; that the series of facts for Massachusetts should have 
been interrupted is most unfortunate from the historical 
standpoint. 

Connecticut was one of the earliest states to require the 
registration of births. As in the case of Massachusetts the 
state did not at first distinguish the illegitimate from the legit- 
imate births ; besides, other valuable information was over- 
looked. The interest of the physicians in sociological facts, 

groups, age, sex, conjugal conditions and race being very im- 
portant. On the other hand, it is the only method which en- 
ables us to estimate the importance of illegitimacy as a problem 
in any given population. 

2. The rate of illegitimacy among a given number of un- 
married women of child-bearing age, the age period usually con- 
sidered being 15 to 45 years. This method is considered the best 
from a statistical standpoint, because it gives the actual amount 
of illegitimacy among that part of the population having poten- 
tiality for illegitimacy, the rate being the quotient of the number 
of unmarried mothers divided by the total number of unmarried 
women 15 to 45 years of age. A still better comparison would con- 
sist of the relation of the number of unmarried mothers of each 
age to the total number of unmarried women at such age. 
II. Relative rates, expressing proportions between two variable 
terms or quantities. 

1. The proportion of illegitimate to total, or all, births. This 
rate is easily secured as it can be computed wherever birth regis- 
tration is required and births are classified as legitimate or illegit- 
imate. It is not a satisfactory measure of illegitimacy because 
the conditions controlling the legitimate birth rate are very 
different from those affecting illegitimate births. If the general 
birth rate declines then, unless the illegitimate birth rate meas- 
ured in the same manner as the general rate also declines, the 
apparent illegitimacy will increase. Nevertheless, this is the 
method of comparison most frequently used and on account of the 
facility in computing this proportion, most deductions are based 
on this rate. If the birth rate is stationary, the results are usually 
good, but if great reductions have occurred, the comparisons are 
far from satisfactory. 

2. The proportion of illegitimate to legitimate births. This 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 



17 



as well as medical, is apparent from the request made in 1858 
by the state medical society that the report on vital statistics 
be enlarged to include facts relating to still births, illegiti- 
macy, plural births, nativity of parents and colored popula- 
tion. Previous to this time, only the simplest information 
was gathered and the social significance of more wide-spread 
knowledge regarding these subjects was not appreciated. The 
Commissioner's report for the year 1858 contained a few sta- 
tistics on illegitimacy and all subsequent reports have includ- 
ed this item among the various conditions represented on the 

method is almost identical with the preceding one and has similar 

advantages and disadvantages. 

None of these methods of measuring illegitimacy are entirely 
satisfactory. Although some of them give us an idea of volume or 
of proportion, they do not show the susceptibility at various ages. 
The solution of the problem is considerably affected by the rate of 
illegitimacy among the unmarried women of various specified ages. 
The statistics, however, are usually lacking to make such a compari- 
son possible. In the United States practically the only figures are 
the ones relating the illegitimate births to the total number of births. 
The Children's Bureau, however, has estimated the number of illegit- 
imate births per 1000 unmarried women from 15 to 45 years of age. 

The various effects that may be produced depending on the meth- 
od of computation are well illustrated in the following table taken 
from the British statistics of illegitimate births in England: 

DECLINE OF ILLEGITIMACY IN ENGLAND 



YEARS 


Illegitimate births 




per 1000 of all 




births 




Number Ratio 


1876-80 


47.5 100 


1906-10 


40.2 84.6 


1911 


42.7 89.9 


1915 


44.5 93.7 



Illegitimate births Illegitimate births 
per 1000 of the per 1000 unmarried 
population women 15-45 



Number Ratio 

1.7 100 

1.1 64.7 

1.0 58.8 

.91 58.3 



Number Ratio 

14.4 100 

8.1 56.3 

8.0 55.4 

7.4 51.4 



Three methods of comparison are introduced in the foregoing 



18 University of Missouri Studies 

birth records. Connecticut is, therefore, the only state which 
has records on illegitimacy covering a period of sixty years 
or more. 

The remaining state which deserves mention is Michi- 
gan. Its vital statistics were reported for the first time in 
1868, and the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate 
births was made from the beginning. The state, therefore, 
has unbroken records for a period of fifty-two years. Apart 
from these states no statistics of importance dealing with il- 



table. Using the five year period 1876-80 as a base we find according 
to the first method that the proportion of illegitimate to all births 
has slowly declined and that by 1911 it had fallen 11.1 per cent, a 
rather small decline. Throughout this period, from 4 to 5 per cent 
of the births were recorded as illegitimate. Viewed from the stand- 
point of disabilities affecting children the facts are rather discourag- 
ing because the proportion of illegitimacy has fallen so little. 

The second method yields more favorable results. It shows that 
among the English people considered in the aggregate illegitimate 
births form a constantly decreasing proportion of the population. 
This is specially important because it implies that illegitimacy is 
relatively much less serious than formerly. In 1911 there were added 
to the illegitimate children of England only slightly more than one- 
half as many per 1000 of the population as in the peried of 1876-80. 

The third set of figures throws light on moral conditions in Eng- 
land and yields the most important result of all. It is well known, 
of course, that the English birth rate has suffered a considerable de- 
cline during the thirty-five years covered by the table, but the causes 
which affect the rate of legitimate births are very different from those 
influencing the illegitimate births. Consequently, the one may fall 
and the other rise. In actual practice, both have fallen, but the illegi- 
timate birth rate has declined the more rapidly. Accordingly we find 
that among the unmarried women of child-bearing age the rate of 
illegitimacy fell nearly fifty per cent during this period. These figures 
indicate that moral standards among single women are higher than 
formerly. It naturally follows that a smaller proportion of single 
women or of children will be compelled to suffer the social and legal 
penalties that illegitimacy imposes. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 19 

legitimacy were gathered until several years after the begin- 
ning of the twentieth century. 

It is interesting to observe the figures given by the var- 
ious state reports. Massachusetts begins with an incredibly 
low rate of illegitimacy — two-thirds of one per cent of all 
births — but the rates gradually rose to 2.09 per cent in 1890. 
Both Connecticut and Michigan reported an average of less 
than one per cent, but their figures indicate serious fluctua- 
tions in the proportions. All of these rates are so low when 
contrasted with those prevailing in continental Europe that 
were it not for the confirmation that is afforded by later sta- 
tistics in these states their value might be seriously impaired. 
Nevertheless, measured in terms of percentage of increase, 
great changes have occurred. Massachusetts tripled its rate 
betwen 1854 and 1890, while the other two states also showed 
considerable increase. There can be no doubt that much of 
this increase is only apparent and is really due to a more near- 
ly complete registration of illegitimacy. That these statistics 
are not haphazard, however, is indicated by the fact that the 
various counties in Massachusetts reported widely contrast- 
ing rates. For example, in 1878 Suffolk County recorded a 
rate of 3.1% and in 1890 of 5.3% or more than twice the aver- 
age for the entire state. On the other hand, the rates for 
Middlesex County seem to have been consistently lower than 
those generally prevailing throughout the state. The Boston 
statistics were exceedingly noteworthy. In 1887, 730 illegit- 
imate births were recorded, and in addition 90 of unknown 
parentage. This constitutes a rate at least three times as 
high as that for the state at large. But in 1891 the recorded 
cases numbered 65.4 and in 1892 they fell to 433. What re- 
markable social change reduced the illegitimate births more 
than 200 in one year? 

The figures for Michigan also indicate an attempt to re- 
port the facts truthfully. This conclusion becomes apparent 
in studying the percentage of illegitimacy discovered among 
mulattoes and negroes. For example, the statistics of 1890 

N 



20 University of Missouri Studies 

show that the reported rate for white persons was .81 per 
cent while the rate among mulattoes was 4.21 per cent and 
among negroes 4.52 per cent. According to these figures 
illegitimacy was five times as common among negroes as 
among whites. The recent statistics tend to throw additional 
light on these differences. 

Present Conditions 

The desire to promote social welfare has resulted in a 
movement toward the systematic registration of births. A 
''birth registration" area is gradually developing and many 
states have enacted, and are enforcing, laws requiring the 
registration of births. These records are in most cases as 
inclusive as required by the standard registration certificate, 
unless the facts relating to illegitimacy are ruled out. In 
spite of the large number of states that now have legally pro- 
vided for a system of birth records and for annual reports 
covering their vital statistics only a few have published fig- 
ures on illegitimacy. 

However the Federal Bureau of the Census has made use 
of the available material and in its annual reports on Birth 
Statistics presents such figures as it has been able to collect. 
The following table gives the proportion of illegitimate births 
for the years 1917 and 1918 1^ 



'Bureau of the Census. Birth Statistics. 1917 arxd 1918. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 



21 



Percentage of Total Births Re- 
ported Illegitimate 



AREA 



Percentage 
illegitimate 



Registration area 

Connecticut 

Indiana 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts .— 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

New Hampshire .. 

New York 

North Carolina .. 

Ohio 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island .— 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Washington 

Wisconsin 



1917 


1918 


1.79 


1.67 


.98 


1.1 


1.31 


1.21 


.71 


.63 


1.45 


1.24 


.97 


.84 


4.62 


4.57 


.84 


.72 


1.24 


1.24 


1.61 


1.56 


1.09 


1.30 


1.22 


.90 


4.92 


4.53 


1.25 


1.26 


1.78 


1.80 


1.42 


.84 


.72 


.85 


1.23 


1.27 


5.35 


5.07 


.94 


.85 


1.20 


1.19 



Illegitimacy According to Race 
and Nationality 

RACE & NA- Per cent of 

TIONALITY births illegiti- 
mate 

1917 1918 

White 1.23 1.13 

White of native 

parents 1.52 1.40 

White, mother 

foreign born 53 .45 

White, mother 

Italian 19 .15 

White, mother 

Polish 55 .49 

White, mother 

British 83 .65 

White, mother 

Irish 1.21 .95 

White, mother 

German 80 .55 

Negro 11.94 11.10 



According to these tables the only states with an illegit- 
imacy rate higher than two per cent of the total births are 
those having a considerable negro population. However, less 
than one-half of the states are represented and conditions 
may be different in some of them ; for example, the vital sta- 
tistics of Missouri show that in 1917 the recorded rate of il- 
legitimacy was 2.4%. Less than five per cent of the popula- 
tion of the state is negro. No doubt the complete facts, if 
they could be obtained for the various states would reveal 
a much larger amount of illegitimacy than is indicated above. 
Cases of unknown legitimacy are excluded although special 



22 University of Missouri Studies 

investigations of such cases have shown that a large propor- 
tion are illegitimate. 

The facts collected by the federal Children's Bureau indi- 
cate many deviations from the figures in the table, some of 
them being of considerable importance. In most cases the 
rates exceed those given in the census report. Statistics based 
on original records studied show a percentage of illegitimacy 
in Massachusetts of 2.3 instead of less than one-half of this 
figure as reported in the table prepared by the Bureau of the 
Census. There can be no doubt that intensive investigation 
will reveal a much larger amount of illegitimacy than the 
tables indicate. 

Some interesting facts relating to the number of illegiti- 
mate births in various cities are shown in the following table 
and deserve comparison with those for the states mentioned 
above. In several instances still births are not excluded but 
the difference in percentage caused by their inclusion is very 
slight.^ 



^Except as otherwise indicated these figures are based on infor- 
mation obtained from state and local health reports and through- 
correspondence. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 



23 



ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS IN CITIES 



CITY 



DATE Percentage of total births 
reported illegitimate 



Johnstown, Pa 


... 1912 


2.2 


Boston 


... 1915 
.. 1917 
.. 1915 


4.0 


Buffalo 


2.5 


Chicago 


5.0 (estimate) 


Cincinnati* 


.. 1915 
... 1915 
... 1914 
... 1917 
.. 1918 


3.8 


Cleveland 


2.26 


Detroit 


3.9 


Denver* 


3.6 


Kansas City 


8.2 


Milwaukee (Co.) 


.. 1915 


2.3 


Milwaukee (City)* .. 


.. 1917 


2.6 


Minneapolis* 


.. 1917 


4.0 


New York* 


... 1917 


1.0 


Philadelphia 


.. 1915 




White 




2.9 


Colored 




17.7 


Pittsburgh 


.. 1915 


3.1 


St Paul* 


... 1917 
.. 1913 


5.0 


St. Louis 




White 




4.2 


Colored 




16.9 


St. Louis 


.. 1920 


4.8 


Washington''' 


1917 




White 




2.3 


Colored 




18.8 



In the cities also the percentage of illegitimacy is much 
greater than that indicated by published figures. In most in- 
stances when the legitimacy is officially unknown, as in the case 
of foundlings, the child actually is illegitimate. Again, every 
effort is made to conceal the unwelcome facts and to report the 
child as legitimate if possible. In the third place, the births of 
many babies are not reported at all. 

The excess of illegitimate births in the cities over the rates 



*Figures taken from Report of Federal Children's Bureau — "Il- 
legitimacy as a Child Welfare Problem." p. 25. 



24 University of Missouri Studies 

for the states as a whole is partly due to the tendency of 
women to migrate from the rural districts and small towns to 
the cities to conceal, if possible, from neighbors and friends, 
the fact of their condition. 

The wide difference in the rates among white and colored 
is indisputable. No refinement of the statistics can bridge the 
gap between the two. Investigation has disclosed the fact that 
few colored women migrate to or from the cities for confinement. 
The reputed rates, therefore, reflect quite accurately the ascer- 
tained illegitimacy in a city or state. Accordingly, the figures 
showing that more than eighteen per cent of the colored births 
in Washington and sixteen per cent of those in St. Louis are 
illegitimate represent no over-statement of the prevailing immor- 
ality. So large a proportion seems almost unbelievable, but it 
must not be forgotten that less than sixty years ago the family 
life of the negro was in the crudest state and marriage was 
almost without official sanction. Centuries have been required 
to ennoble family life among the Europeans. We must, there- 
fore, consider that half a century of freedom for the negro can 
only serve as an introduction for him. Nevertheless, illegiti- 
macy in certain parts of Europe is as frequent as the rates given 
for the negro in the three cities for which figures are quoted. 
While the low morality prevailing among the negroes cannot be 
overlooked, it can, in part at least, be explained and a frank 
historical view of the evolution of the negro will not result in 
too violent a denunciation of his morals. In fact, the white race 
has assisted in schooling the negro in the very practices which 
lead to illegitimacy. 

Our American statistics convey a little information in regard 
to the comparative illegitimacy among the native and foreign 
born white. According to the foregoing table the rate -per 1000 
births is three times as high among native mothers than among 
the foreign born. Furthermore, these rates are much lower than 
those prevailing in Europe. Although Italy has a much higher 
rate than Ireland the Irish immigrants yield many times the pro- 
portion indicated for the Italian immigrant. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 25 

Direct evidence in favor of the foreign born is afforded 
also by the investigations of the Federal Children's Bureau. In 
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, it was discovered that in 1911 among 
-860 native mothers the rate of illegitimacy was 3.7 per cent, 
while among 691 foreign mothers it was only .3 per cent, Vv^hich 
represents two illegitimate births.* 

The figures for Philadelphia are less favorable. In 1915 
out of 811 white unmarried mothers, 220, or more than one- 
fourth, were foreign born. This is a larger percentage than the 
proportion which foreign born single women fifteen years of 
age or over form of the entire group of single women. This 
fact, however, does not alone determine the absolute validity of 
the comparison. If the proper corrections could be made the 
results might vary somewhat although it is not likely that the 
rates would differ widely. But several nationalities are rather 
heavily represented chief among which are natives of Ireland, 
Russia, Austria and Hungary. These include three-fourths of 
the total number of foreign born unmarried mothers. 

While some of the figures indicate that the rates among 
the foreign born are lower than among the natives the evidence 
in conflicting. General conditions cannot be kown without addi- 
tional information. The fact that illegitimacy is much more 
common in Europe than in the United States seems rather in- 
consistent with the few figures given above. If the illegitimacy 
among immigrants is so much less than among inhabitants of 
the countries from which they come then it is clear that all-per- 
vading social causes lie at the base of this condition; for it is 
unthinkable that only the highest moral types emigrate to the 
United States. Although the facts for our immigrant popula- 
ion are not sufficiently known to justify generalizations as to 
the tremendous differences between the rates in Europe and the 
rates here, nevertheless they furnish strong presumption that 



*Children's Bureau — Infant Mortality, Bureau Publication No. 9, 
p. 49. 



26 University of Missouri Studies 

neither mental nor physiological conditions are largely respon- 
sible. 

Heredity and innate tendencies cannot be charged with the 
blame but social conditions must be responsible for the differ- 
ences. If the same people have a high rate of illegitimacy abroad 
and a very low rate in the United States, the fact indicates that 
wholesome influences are at work here to prevent immorality 
and that foreign countries have failed utterly to solve the prob- 
lem. 

The scattered statistics of illegitimacy in the United States 
do not furnish sufficient information to enable the writer to esti- 
mate its volume. At best it is only possible to point out that 
the observed rates among the colored people are very high and 
that these occur in the cities in which the negro population is to 
some extent an immigrant population. It would not be surpris- 
ing to find a much higher rate in certain cities of the South, and 
in those sections where the customs prevalent in slavery days 
have not died out. Among the 250,000 to 300,000 births among 
negroes every year a rate of 12 to 20 per cent of illegitimacy 
would account for from approximately 35,000 to 55,000 illegiti- 
mate births annually. 

The statistics for the white population are not representa- 
tive of the country as a whole. In certain backward sections to 
which modern vital statistics have not penetrated there is un- 
doubtedly a much higher rate than that prevailing in the states 
whose records are given. The differences noted among the var- 
ious states and the differences between city and country districts 
and between differently situated cities make an estimate of the 
annual number of white illegitimate births very difficult. The 
large numbers, however, that constantly occur in the big cities 
challenge the reformer and compel attention. That there are 
thousands every year is clearly apparent. The tendency to con- 
ceal the fact of illegitimacy, no doubt, results in an incorrect 
report in hundreds of cases and, therefore, the actual number of 
illegitimate births is much larger than the recorded rate. At no 
tim.e have the American figures given a complete statement of 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 27 

the facts and while statistics seems to show little change in the 
proportion of illegitimacy the apparent increase over the earlier 
figures may be due largely to greater accuracy in the compila- 
tion of the statistics. Nevertheless, there are indications that the 
burden of illegitimacy is actually increasing. 

The Children's Bureau has attempted to estimate the num- 
ber of cases and according to one computation places the illegit- 
imate white births as approximately 32,400 annually, but this 
figure implies an illegitimate birth rate of not more than one 
and one-half per cent, while many believe that the rate is con- 
siderably higher.^ In fact private investigations made in various 
cities have almost invariably disclosed a higher rate of illegiti- 
macy than that indicated from the public statistics. However, 
by another method the Bureau reaches a total of 35,100 illegiti- 
mate births.^ 



''Children's Bureau. "Illegitimacy as a Child Welfare Problem." 
p. 26. 

®In order to contrast the situation in the United States with that 
existing in European countries the following table is presented: 



28 University of Missouri Studies 

RATE OF ILLEGITIMACY IN EUROPE 

Rates per 100 births* Rates per 1000 unmar- 

COUNTRY ried women 15-45*** 

1870 1889 1910 1910-14** 1880 1890-92 1900-03 

Austria 13.1 14.7 13.7 11.9 43.4 42.7 40.1 

Sweden 10.4 10.1 10.8 15.1 

Germany 10.1 9.1 9.1 9.4 29.6 28.7 27.4 

(90) 

Norway 8.5 7.4 7.3 6.9 19.7 16.9 17.2 

Italy 6.4 7.3 5.1 4.8 25.4 19.4 

Switzerland 4.7 4.3 4.7 10.8 10.0 9.8 

France 7.5 8.4 10.2 8.7 I 17.6 17.7 19.1 

Australia / 14.5 15.9 13.2 

Netherlands 2.1 9.7 9.0 6.9 

England & 

Wales 5.6 4.6 4.8 4.2 14.1 10.5 8.5 

Ireland 2.7 2.8 2.6 2.8 4.4 3.9 3.8 

Servia 1.3 

(06-10) 



*Figures for 1870 and 1889 from Lefifingwell's "Illegitimacy"; for 
1910 from Borosini, in Journal of the American Institute of Criminal 
Law and Criminology, July, 1913. 

**Figures from Illegitimacy as a Child Welfare Problem — by 
Federal Children's Bureau. 

***Figures relating to births per 1000 unmarried women from 
Seventy-third Annual Report of Registrar-General of Births, Deaths 
and Marriages in England and Wales. 

These rates indicate an appalling amount of illegitimacy. In 
Europe before the war there were probably about 600,000 illegitimate 
births annually. Germany led with about 180,000. Austria-Hungary 
followed with 120,000. Then came France with 75,000 or more, while 
Great Britain with less than one-half of the population of the United 
States has at least 50,000 annually, probably more than the illegitimate 
births among the white population in this country. European coun- 
tries as a whole with but few exceptions exhibit rates several times 
as high as those prevailing here. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 29 

An apparent increase in illegitimacy may also be due in part 
to the declining birth rates. The rate of illegitimacy which we 
have used is rather a relative figure, therefore, in spite of a 
larger percentage of illegitimate births than formerly, the 
number of such births per 1000 unmarried women of child 
bearing age may not have increased much and perhaps has 
shown but little change. Adequate statistics to verify these 
questions are lacking, however. Nevertheless, the problem 
is a menacing one and the greater promptness in developing 
a complete program of care and prevention, the better it will 
be for our young women and for the morals of our people. 

Common Law Marriage 

The subject is further complicated by the acceptance of 
the common law marriage system. In about three-fourths of 
the states a man and a woman may live together, call them- 
selves husband and wife, bring children into the world and 
undergo all the vicissitudes of family life. If they make this 
arrangement a permanent union they are not particularly 
subject to reproach, but it is precisely this condition of per- 
manency which a large proportion of the men involved, and 
some of the women as well, wish to avoid. Many men deceive 
women by perfecting a temporary relationship which the lat- 
ter consider a sincere union, but which the men regard simply 
as an opportunity for promiscuous living. They are willing 
fathers only when the child is conceived and not when re- 
sponsibility for its care is imminent. Accordingly, many so- 
called common law marriages are a mere subterfuge for a life 
of irregularity and unsanctioned sex relations. When the 
baby comes the family frequently has trouble and when the 
birth certificate is prepared by the physician or midwife, the 
mother admits the irregularity of her marital relations and the 
child is recorded as illegitimate. Furthermore, the child is 
neglected and suffers the conditions of life frequently imposed 
on the illegitimate. The children of a common law marriage, 



30 University of Missouri Studies 

therefore, comprise a serious problem, but one whose magni- 
tude cannot be statistically ascertained. 

It would be most helpful to society if the births result- 
ing- from common law marriages could be recorded in some 
uniform manner instead of being distributed between legiti- 
mate and illegitimate births as they now are. Reformers 
could then view the problem in clearer perspective and it 
would hasten the day when this great source of immorality 
would be removed. 

Previous Sex Irregularity 

To what extent unlawful motherhood is the culmination 
of a sudden fall from virtue, or how far it represents the re- 
sults of long continued vice are questions to which no accu- 
rate answers can be given. That many of these young women 
are diseased is, however, indicated by the fact that the mor- 
tality of illegitimate infants is so largely accentuated by the 
presence of social disease. The few statistics available for 
mothers show much disease among them. Maternity hospi- 
tals find that a considerable number of the girls are suffer- 
ing either from gonorrhea or syphilis. Seldom are these dis- 
eases innocently acquired and in most cases they follow fre- 
quent sex experience. Out of eighty-four women studied in 
Boston, sixty-three had been previously immoral, and of these, 
about 20 per cent had previously given birth to illegitimate 
children. In St. Louis in 1911-12, out of 806 unmarried moth- 
ers under twenty-one years of age, forty-five had previously 
given l^irth to a child. However, twenty-six of the number 
were i^-egroes among whom maturity arrives somewhat ear- 
lier than among the whites. Nevertheless, one white woman, 
an "actress," was three times a mother before she reached 
the age of twenty-one. The percentage of unmarried moth- 
ers of all ages who had previously borne a child was approxi- 
mately fifteen. Among these were older women, some of 
whom were widowed, divorced or deserted. Several instances 



k' 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 31 

were recorded of entire families of illegitimate children, every 
baby having a different father. 

The published figures relating to unmarried mothers 
handled by the state infirmary of Massachusetts in 1917 give 
the following facts : 

Seventy-four prospective mothers were accepted for con- 
finement; in fifty -four cases it was the first child; in fifteen 
the second, in several it represented the third or fourth con- 
finement and in two cases the fifth. The figures, however, 
are not typical for unmarried mothers as a whole, since the 
infirmary cases are largely limited to persons of low stand- 
ards, chronic poverty and persistent immorality. This is 
further illustrated by the fact that out of sixty-four married 
women accepted by the infirmary for care fifteen were preg- 
nant for illegitimate children.'^ 

The proportion of women who have previously had chil- 
dren does not represent the percentage of previous sex irregu- 
larity. The Boston cases for which information was secured 
indicate that four-fifths of the women had practiced immor- 
ality. In Philadelphia out of 290 women information was 
obtained for 131. Of this number only sixty were classed 
as ''otherwise moral," while seventy-one had a record of pre- 
vious immorality.^ 

Migration of Mothers 

A factor of considerable importance in the reorganiza- 
tion of our methods of treating illegitimacy is the migration 
of mothers from country to city and between cities. So ser- 
ious a condition is this in the United States that our comput- 
ed rates of illegitimacy are rendered quite inaccurate. 



^Thirty-Ninth Annual Report of the State Board of Charity of 
Mass. 1917. 

^Report of the Municipal Court of Philadelphia. 1915. 



^2 University of Missouri Studies 

The following statistics are an indication of the facts : 
RESIDENCE OF MOTHERS'' 







Per cent residing 


in 








State but 




Number cases 


City 




Outside City 


Other states 


St. Louis 1971 


62.6 




15.9 


21.5 


Boston 809 


58.3 




35.1 


6.6 


Milwaukee 1660 


70.1 




29.9 


* 


^Included under "State but outside 


city." 





It appears that the cities vary widely as to the probable 
residence of mothers. St. Louis receives nearly two-fifths of 
the total number from localities outside the city. Further- 
more, one-fifth come from other states. A large number of 
cases are also sent from districts within the state ; and if these 
are added to the local cases we find that nearly four-fifths of 
the entire number belong to the state and depend for their 
disposition on its laws. The figures for Boston indicate that 
a larger proportion than in St. Louis come from outside the 
city, but comparatively few are sent from neighboring states. 
The tendency toward migration to Milwaukee is less pro- 
nounced than in the case of the other two cities, but all of 
them receive a large number of unfortunate girls from the 
outside. In a similar way many girls, especially from the so- 
called better class, leave the cities of their residence to hide 
their shame from friends and relatives and are confined in 
hospitals or homes elsewhere. In the rural districts and small 
towns the pressure is probably more severe and if marriage 
does not follow the discovery of prospective parenthood, many 
girls are driven from their homes by irate and unsympathetic 

''Statistics taken from "Illegitimate Births in St. Louis," by Man- 
gold and Essex; Report of the Wisconsin Vice Committee; and Studies 
of Boston Conference on Illegitimacy. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 33 

parents only to find their way into the large cities where the 
maternity homes or hospitals minister to their needs. In 
many cities pregnant unmarried women apparently without 
a home often wander about for a considerable time before 
confinement. Many of these are non-residents, forced to leave 
their homes and pushed in the cities where they swell the ag- 
gregate of illegitimate births occurring there. Such young 
women often go long distances ; for example, girls from Texas 
and Virginia have come all the way to St. Louis to be con- 
fined. 

There is little migration among colored girls, partly be- 
cause the shame attached to illegitimacy is not so great as 
to ruin the life of the offending individual ; and among the for- 
eign born there are few opportunities to hide disgrace owing 
to difficulties in finding places to which girls may be sent. 

Places of Confinement 

The great majority of illegitimate babies are born in hos- 
pitals or maternity homes. Perhaps this fact will simplify 
the control and treatment of mothers when adequate machin- 
ery for this purpose has been instituted. A study of fifteen 
hospitals and homes in Chicago shows that about 1350 illegit- 
imate births occurred in these institutions in a single year.^° 
In addition there are other hospitals that handle cases of il- 
legitimacy. The sum total reaches a figure considerably 
above 2000 and this represents by far the larger proportion 
of illegitimate births in the city. 

Out of 66Q cases in Cincinnati only 15.6 per cent of the 
births occurred outside of hospitals or institutions. In Boston 
eighty per cent of the 858 illegitimate births in 1913 occurred 
in the hospitals and the remainder in tenements and lodging 
houses. In Milwaukee in 1913, fifty-nine per cent of the con- 
finements of unmarried mothers occurred in hospitals. Some- 

^"Moore, Howard, "The Care of Illegitimate Children in Chicago." 



34 University of Missouri Studies 

what more definite than these figures are those collected for 
the city of St. Louis, covering the three years 1911-13.^^ They 
are presented in the follovv^ing table: 

PLACE OF CONFINEMENT 



Number 



Hospital 


1244 


Commercial Mater- 




nity House 


210 


Private House 


583 


Not tabulated 


9 


Foundlings 


36 


TOTAL 


2082 



Per cent 


59.8 


10.0 


28.0 


.45 


1.75 



100.00 



An analysis of these statistics shoves that nearly 70 per 
cent of the total number of w^omen w^ere confined in institu- 
tions of some sort. The benevolent institutions include the 
City Hospital, Salvation Army Rescue Home, and several 
foundling homes. Driven from home, the unfortunate girl 
is often compelled to enter an institution at an earlier stage 
of pregnancy than the married w^oman and, therefore, the 
cost of maintenance at the hospital is greater. Frequently, 
this cost is partly defrayed in service, since otherwise oppor- 
tunities would not open for the institutional care of the un- 
married mothers. 

Although the figures credit commercial maternity homes 
with only 10 per cent of the confinements it is probable that 
the proportion is much larger. That many births are not 
reported, or reported as legitimate, and that abortions are 
frequently performed, is certain. The statistics of unmarried 
pregnant women would tell a very different story from the 
figures relating to illegitimacy. A large proportion of the 

"Mangold and Essex, "Illegitimate Births in St. Louis." p. 19. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 35 

patrons of maternity homes are girls from outside the city 
or well-to-do women from within. 

Probably most foundlings are born in some private house, 
although a few are abandoned babies taken from commercial 
institutions. If so, nearly 30 per cent of the illegitimate births 
occurred at some private house or home. In these cases the 
mothers are residents of St. Louis and usually have relatives 
or friends to minister to their needs. Many of these are older 
women who have become fixed in a life of immorality and 
have lost the modesty that still becomes the younger woman. 



CHAPTER II 

CAUSES AND CONDITIONS UNDERLYING 
ILLEGITIMACY 

Illegitimacy is a product of extra-conjugal sex relations, 
and its causes are identical with the causes of such relations. 
If in the British West Indies and parts of South America and 
probably other localities more than one-half of all births are 
illegitimate, we must assume that family life in these local- 
ities is largely absent, and that promiscuous sex relations are 
normal conditions. Here the causes of illegitimacy lie in the 
primitive nature of the civilization, the low standards of the 
people and their unbridled sex impulses. These conditions, 
however, are not at all typical of European races or their de- 
scendants and, therefore, throw no light on the nature of the 
problem that faces us today. 

Special Causes Affecting Europe 

In Europe, too, we have conditions that cannot be com- 
pared with ours. In most countries the rate of illegitimacy 
is at least twice that of American cities and in several it is 
five or six times as high.^^ At once it is clear that such a 
cause as low mentality must be relatively a minor factor and 
that other dominant and overshadowing causes must exist 
Many years ago Dr. Leflfingwell enumerated the principal 
factors influencing the rates of illegitimacy as follows : 

1. Religion 

2. Legislation and legal impediments to marriage 

3. Heredity, or the influence of race and ancestry." 
He said further — "Differences in the annual prevalence 

of illegitimacy in different localities or sections of the same 
country are so marked and so persistent, that only by the hy- 

^^Illegitimacy, p. 86. 

(36) 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 37 

pothesis of hereditary influence can we at present account 
for them." 

In the light of recent studies the argument concerning 
heredity must be almost entirely remodeled and restated. It 
has become comparatively clear that it is only as hereditary 
conditions take the form of feeble-mindedness that they as- 
sume any considerable influence; and then it is the weak 
will, not hereditary immorality, that produces the results. 
The meager American statistics relating to illegitimacy 
among the foreign born indicate that here the prevalent rate 
is lower than among the native whites ; and while the argu- 
ment from these facts is not conclusive it does indicate that 
probably the hereditary factor, apart from weak mentality, is 
a negligible quantity. 

It is true, on the other hand, that different sections of 
various European countries have persistently maintained dis- 
similar rates of illegitimacy. North and South England are 
not alike ; the various German states have each their typical 
rates and in other countries similar variations occur. To ac- 
count for these differences on the basis of heredity is to main- 
tain that serious innate differences in sex impulse exist among 
these closely allied branches and subdivisions of the white 
race. That inordinate sexual desire may and does run in fam- 
ilies can hardly be doubted, but it must be questioned wheth- 
er such families are proportionately much more numerous in 
one part of England or of Germany than in another. Feeble- 
mindedness may, indeed, be far from uniform in the different 
countries but governmental and social agencies are probably 
• chiefly responsible for such differences; and variations in il- 
legitimacy based on variations in the proportion of feeble- 
mindedness should logically be charged against this defect. 

In Europe the customs and ideals of the people vary so 
much from each other and the provincialism of different sec- 
tions of a nation is so marked that these factors must act 
powerfully on the rate of illegitimacy. It is not so long since 
that sex irregularity between intimate members of the op- 



38 University of Missouri Studies 

posite sex was very common in France. Even "good" literature 
did not condemn it. Sex relations between betrothed individuals 
were in some localities, especially in Germany, almost univer- 
sal. Wherever experimentation in the fecundity of a certain 
combination is viewed with complacency, if not approval; 
wherever pre-nuptial relations following the betrothal of a 
couple are differentiated from ordinary sex irregularity, and the 
betrothal is nearly as sacred as the marriage tie, there a high 
rate of illegitimacy will occur. Where men must remain un- 
married while they are engaged in military service and that 
service continues for a considerable period, such as three 
years or more, betrothals may be expected, likewise illegiti- 
mate children. These, however, are likely to be legitimated 
later on, but in some cases, as in England, marriage subse- 
quent to the birth of the baby cannot make the child legiti- 
mate and it will always be classified as a bastard.^^ 



"The extent to which pre-nuptial relations exist is not definitely 
known. However, a few facts relating to them have been obtained. An 
examination by J. W. Nixon of the Australian vital statistics shows that 
in the three years 1910-12, twenty thousand six hundred and ninety- 
one illegitimate births occurred and eighteen thousand three hundred 
and eighty-five births during the first six months of marriage. Were 
the latter group to be classed as illegitimate then the rate based on 
the number of unmarried women fifteen to forty-five years of age 
plus one-half of the women married during the year would rise from 
11.6 to 21,13 per 1000, or nearly twice the actual rate.* The number 
of births among the unmarried women is only slightly larger than 
the number after marriage but conceived before. In Australia chil- 
dren born within wedlock are regarded as legitimate, hence the for- 
mer figure denotes the rate of illegitimacy. Among many Teutonic 
peoples ante-nuptial sex relations are deliberate attempts to deter- 
mine the probable fertility of a proposed union and marriage natur- 
ally follows. Pregnancy does not create prejudice but insures mar- 
riage. In fact, the pre-nuptial condition is in a sense a trial marriage. 
Bailey quotes statistics showing that in Berlin, ten per cent of all 
legitimate children and forty per cent of all first born were conceived 
before marriage; that in twenty-nine per cent of the marriages fer- 
tility was assured before the marriages occurred and that about 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 39 

The great difference between comparatively adjacent 
communities in economic and social conditions is certainly 
an important factor. The presence of an abnormally large 
group of unmarried women has been shown to coincide with 
a high rate of illegitimacy unless neutralized by other factors. 
A low age of marriage tends to prevent illegitimacy. The 
extraordinary conditions in Ireland are partly due to this fact. 
Delay in marriage stimulates extra-conjugal sex relations, and 
where a considerable group seem destined to celibacy either 
because of a disproportion between the sexes or because of un- 
favorable economic conditions or legal obstacles, much illegit- 
imacy is to be expected. 

Again, laws requiring civil marriage and legislation im- 
posing restriction on marriage are sure to produce similar 
effects. Townley-Fullam shows, for example, that an illegiti- 
macy rate of over 52 per cent among Poles (mostly Polish 
Jews) in Buda-Pesth really means that the civil law has not 
been followed, but the Mosaic code has.^* Accordingly, the 
children are classed as illegitimate ; yet before 1895 the Jew- 
ish marriage rites were recognized and such births were re- 
garded as legitimate. 

Undue restrictions whether by law or by public opinion 
cause sex impulse to break through the bounds recognized by 
the conventions of society. "Before you marry have a house 
wherein to tarry," seems to be excellent advice, and if follow- 
ed should promote higher standards of living, but in any lo- 
cality or among any group or class where this goal is attained 
only with great difficulty, immorality will surely develop ex- 



twenty-five per cent of all births in Berlin are conceived outside of 
matrimony.** 

♦Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Vol. 77, p. 853. July, 1914. 
**Modern Social Conditions, p. 122. 

"Forum, Vol. 50, pp. 619-630. 



40 University of Missouri Studies 

ceptional proportions, or substitutes for civil marriage v^ill be 
introduced. 

The so-called common lav^ marriage v^hich consisted in 
merely living together and recognizing each other as hus- 
band and vv^ife was formerly tolerated by the Catholic Church 
and w^as likev^ise accepted by the early Protestants. In Eng- 
land this institution seems to have projected itself from the 
Middle Ages into modern times and was not legally abolished 
until the year 1753. On the continent such voluntary unau- 
thorized unions are not generally recognized and the issue of 
such unions is regarded as illegitimate. Nevertheless, thous- 
ands of families are founded on just so insecure a basis as 
this. Husband and wife expect to live together permanently 
and actually do after several children have been born into the 
home if no previous dissensions have occurred. If separation 
takes place it is usually after a comparatively brief "married" 
life. 

Apart from the factors discussed there are undoubtedly 
a group of causes that have given us a minimum or marginal 
rate of illegitimacy and operate everywhere, but the wide 
variations among localities are largely due to peculiar differ- 
ences in the social conditions of the people. The characteris- 
tic differences that occur among the various countries or 
communities of Europe are due largely to the following 
causes : 

Toleration of pre-marital sex relations. 

Marriage laws that result in common-law marriages. 

Marriage customs of various races and peoples. 

Increase in age of marriage and decline in proportion of 
married. 

Excess of marriageable females. 

Here in the United States, where the rates of illegitimacy 
are much lower than in most of Europe, and in the British 
Isles, the causes are not confused to any extent by peculiar 
customs that partly condone illegitimacy. Here, it is the prod- 
uct of improper or immoral sex relations, and the principal 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 41 

question requiring an answer is, why do individuals, especially 
women, yield to or solicit such forms of immorality? 

Low Mentality 

It is the belief of the writer that ignorance and low ideals 
are the chief causes of illegitimacy. Ignorance is represented 
in various ways. In the first place it is the weakness of the 
feeble-minded girl. The various English investigations, the 
minority report of the Poor Law Commission, the American 
studies by Goddard and Jean Weidensall, the investigations 
by the Children's Bureau of mental defectives in the District 
of Columbia, and the experience of maternity hospitals and 
child caring agencies all attest to this important fact. A large 
number of illegitimate children have feeble-minded mothers. 
Mental defectiveness is probably the most important single 
cause, and the reasons are not far to seek. In every commu- 
nity there are a number of women whose physiological age 
has far outstripped their mental age. From 18 to 25 they are 
in their physical prime and are exceedingly attractive to the 
opposite sex. Mentally, however, they are still children and 
always will be. Their sex impulses are governed by the age 
of physical maturity. Their powers of inhibition and their 
moral comprehension depend on such control as can be ex- 
ercised by a mind of eight or ten ; by a child mind incapable 
of realizing the necessity of our accepted moral and social 
standards. Weak mind and weak will clothed in mature and 
attractive bodies, therefore succumb to the tempter or de- 
ceiver and before long the young woman may herself ensnare 
her male acquaintances. Sex impulse, when the control there- 
of has once been lost in a person (man or woman) of weak 
will, is almost unconquerable. It leads the young girl into 
the juvenile court and sends her to the reformatory. It drives 
the older girl into prostitution or imposes on her the burden 
of unlawful motherhood. It also makes seduction and be- 
trayal easier, because the woman cannot summon the mental 



42 University of Missouri Studies 

power to protect herself. It is not the imbecile woman but 
thje moron who is to be feared. The former is likely to be 
sent to an institution, the latter not only remains at large, 
but is probably able to maintain herself as long as times are 
prosperous and adversity does not test her mind and morals. 
When she breaks down her fate is wrongly interpreted. 

That feeble-mindedness is a large factor in the problem 
of illegitimacy can not be doubted. It does not necessarily 
follow that a girl has really become immoral when she has 
been found guilty of sex irregularity. Only too often she 
fails to understand fully or even to a considerable degree, the 
seriousness of her offense. Then again the girl brought up 
with low standards of morals, if she is also a moron or a high 
grade imbecile, will easily fall because of lack of will power 
and native resolution rather than because she is wilfully im- 
moral. 

In this day when there is a decided tendency among rep- 
resentatives of the so-called eugenists to declare a large pro- 
portion of the population feeble-minded it is necessary to be 
cautious in connecting illegitimacy with feeble-mindedness. 
The development of a system of mental tests has resulted in 
classifying as feeble-minded all of those unable to meet these 
tests. Accordingly, an enormous proportion of the delin- 
quent girls, prostitutes, criminal men, etc., are classified as 
feeble-minded. At the National Conference of Charities and 
Corrections in 1915, one field worker seriously announced that 
her investigations had shown that 98 per cent of the unmar- 
ried mothers were feeble-minded. 

Until a greater degree of accuracy appears among this class 
of investigators, and until a more definite line of cleavage be- 
tween the normal and feeble-minded can be established, the 
proportion of feeble-minded which they discover in a commu- 
nity has only moderate value. Goddard, in his~stu.dy of 
feeble-mindedness, has had occasion to examine the ancestry 
of a considerable number of illegitimate feeble-minded chil- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 43 

dren.^^ He was able to classify 278 feeble-minded persons 
according to the probable source of their defect. He grouped 
causal conditions under the heads, "hereditary", "probably 
hereditary", "neuropathic", "accident", and "no cause", mean- 
ing cause unknown, and then prepared a table of expectation 
which shows how large a proportion of a given number of 
cases should fall within each separate group. According to 
his computation, 60 per cent of the causes are unquestionably 
hereditary and 10 per cent are probably so ; while the remain- 
der are distributed as to cause among other groups. He next 
studied the feeble-minded who were illegitimate and their an- 
cestry and classified the causes of their feeble-mindedness so 
as to compare the results with his table of expectation. Ac- 
cording to this computation, 98 per cent of the total number 
fell into the hereditary group and 4 per cent into the "prob- 
ably hereditary" class. If these proportions are correct, al- 
most the entire number seem to have inherited their weak- 
mindedness. The table of expectation shows that the pro- 
portion in the two groups should have been no larger than 
70 per cent. Consequently, it appears that they furnished 
nearly 40 per cent more illegitimate children than should be 
expected. On the other hand, the "neuropathic" and "acci- 
dental cause" groups furnished less than their quota. That 
hereditary feeble-mindedness is a serious causal factor in re- 
spect to the prevalance of illegitimacy certainly seems to be 
indicated by the foregoing facts. 

The relation of low mentality to illegitimacy has been 
given additional emphasis in the recent study made by the 
Virginia State Board of Charities and Corrections. One of 
the degenerate families investigated shows a continuous rec- 
ord of feeble-mindedness. The Board, in describing the living 
conditions of certain members says '}^ 

^'Goddard, H. H.. — "Feeble-Mindedness: its Causes and Conse- 
quences, p. 499. 

"Report on Mental Defectives in Virginia — by State Board of 
Charities and Corrections, p. 18. 



44 University of Missouri Studies 

"There were in the room, Mary Jane, a slatternly-looking" 
woman of 45 (an illegitimate daughter of Old Sal), the moth- 
er of five illegitimate children, all girls ; and two of Mary 
Jane's daughters, aged 20 and 14 respectively — already they 
had entered a life of prostitution ; the girl of 20 has borne 
four illegitimate children, the youngest, two weeks old, being 
the only living one." The report of the Board continues by 
adding other instances of illegitimacy in the family, the worst 
case actually involving both incest and infanticide. This 
family suffers not only from hereditary feeble-mindedness, 
but as a consequence of weak will and almost inevitable mor- 
al obliquity, such a degrading condition of sexual promiscuity 
prevails that a large proportion of the children are illegiti- 
mate, and, of course, feeble-minded as well. 

The study of the almshouse population revealed a similar 
spectacle of immorality in the relation between feeble-mind- 
edness and illegitimacy. "Our almshouses are virtually lying- 
in hospitals for feeble-minded women," says the report, and 
the investigation of numerous almshouse inmates demon- 
strates the reckless immorality that has prevailed among* 
them. The following quotations descriptive of various in- 
mates studied tell the tragic story of hopeless lives : 

"She then lacked one month of being fourteen years old, 
(at the time of her marriage), but in spite of her youth had 
already given birth to one child and another was born a few 
weeks after her marriage." 

"The only girl, Kate, works out for a while, and then 
comes back for a stay ; already she has given birth to three 
illegitimate children." 

"One of Carrie's aunts appears on the records as 'sim- 
ple.' Although she never married, she was the mother of 
fifteen children, returning to the almshouse to give birth to 
most of them." 

Numerous illustrations such as these merely attest to an 
almost incredible bestiality; nevertheless, there is no reason 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 45 

to doubt that such conditions are repeated elsewhere. Low 
mentality means low morality. 

The statistics of reformatories for girls offer further evi- 
dence of the relation of feeble-mindedness to illegitimacy. 
As is well known the great majority of all delinquent girls in 
institutions are, or have been, immoral. Recent tests show 
that in some institutions practically one-half of the girls are 
feeble-minded ; but these tests must be accepted with such 
reservations as explained above. That this proportion of girls 
is seriously ignorant will not be doubted, and this fact goes 
far to explain the sex irregularity of the girls : and immoral- 
ity, of course, leads to illegitimacy. Our juvenile courts and 
children's societies recognize feeble-mindedness as a factor 
and are urging the better care of the feeble-minded. They 
have begun to realize that mental defectives frequently com- 
mit crimes and that weak-minded girls are being beguiled into 
illicit sex relations, and eventually made the mothers of illegit- 
imate children. The lowest figures are reported from Phila- 
delphia where a study of 750 cases revealed less than 7 per 
cent of feeble-mindedness. Carol Aronovici summarizes his 
investigation of unmarried girls with sex experience in the 
following language: 

*'No evidence of any material frequency of feeble-mind- 
edness influencing the moral character of the girls could be 
detected from the records studied." 

The Massachusetts State Board of Charity commenting 
on mothers handled in the state infirmary says in regard to 
the commercial feature of immorality; "We incline to the 
opinion that the girls we meet in the maternity ward are not 
bright enough to secure for themselves much money returns. 
They merely follow impulse without calculating for tomor- 
row." The Board intimates that a large proportion of these 
women belong to a border-line class, not sufficiently feeble- 
minded to convince a court of the need of institutional care, 
but too subnormal to maintain rigid moral standards. 

Miss Weidensall has made an extensive study of the low 



46 University of Missouri Studies 

mentality of unmarried mothers. Among the groups tested 
were a series of delinquent women at Bedford, N. Y., who 
came to the institution with illegitimate infants or were preg- 
nant for illegitimate children, and an unselected' group of un- 
married mothers referred from the Cincinnati General Hospi- 
tal. These groups were compared with law abiding working 
women, married mothers from the same hospital and young 
girls to note whether characteristic differences in mentality 
actually existed. Two systems of tests were employed in or- 
der to safeguard the accuracy of the results. The principal 
conclusions arrived at were as follows : not more than 20 per 
cent of the unmarried mothers were clearly normal mentally; 
from 40 to 45 per cent were so subnormal that institutional care 
alone can protect them from the dangers of the world ; in less 
than six per cent of the obstetrical cases studied were the 
women earning more than $5.00 per week. 

The married mothers yielded very different results, like- 
wise the law-abiding working women and working girls. 
Among these groups the rate of feeble-mindedness was less 
than one-half that of the unmarried mothers, the highest per- 
centage being found among the married mothers, a large pro- 
portion of whom were dependent on charity for other than 
medical relief.^'' 

English investigations seem to corroborate these conclu- 
sions.^^ It has been shown that out of 14,521 inmates of Mag- 
dalen homes, 2,531 or 16 per cent were feeble-minded. Of 
these, 8 per cent had each had more than one child. Tredgold 
quotes Dr. Potts as saying that out of 100 consecutive cases 
admitted to the Magdalen home at Birmingham, England, 
26 were feeble-minded, 7 were morally insane, and 3 others 
were suffering from various abnormalities. Tredgold claims 
that about 40 per cent of the illegitimacy of his country oc- 
curs among the feeble-minded. Conditions in England, how- 

"National Conference of Social Work. 1917. pp. 287-294. 
''Tredgold, A. F. "Mental Deficiency", p. 451. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 47 

•ever, differ much from those obtaining in the United States 
and the percentages cannot be transferred bodily and applied 
here. Nevertheless, the figures show that there as here il- 
legitimacy is more prevalent among the feeble-minded than 
among the normal population. 

It should be noted that each of these studies has dealt 
with the dependent or delinquent groups of unmarried moth- 
ers and is not quite typical of this class as a whole. Feeble- 
mindedness is so important a cause of poverty and crime that 
a high rate of subnormality would naturally occur among 
those unmarried mothers who have come in touch with 
institutions or charitable agencies. Nevertheless, it is these 
groups particularly that accentuate our social problems, and 
there can be no doubt that an exceptionally large number are 
distinctly feeble-minded. 



Lack of Home Training 

It is plain, however, that ignorance is not due solely to 
mental incapacity. It often results from defective training, 
due to broken homes, premature child labor, ignorance or vi- 
ciousness of parents, and such other conditions as will pre- 
vent young girls and women from understanding themselves 
and their proper relations to the opposite sex. A large num- 
ber of normal girls under the burden of such an environment 
quite naturally become the victims of the wiles of deceitful 
men. A study in Baltimore of 194 unmarried mothers dis- 
closed the interesting fact that 23 per cent lost their mothers 
in early childhood and were compelled to shift for themselves ; 
one-third went to work before they were 12 years old ; one- 
sixth grew up in homes that were immoral and nearly one- 
fourth were earning less than a subsistence wage at the time 
of their seduction. One worker with unmarried mothers 
writes ; "A man with vast experience in seventy-four differ- 
ent rescue homes for girls, a man who speaks with careful 



48 University of Missouri Studies 

consideration, estimates that fully 50 per cent of the girls with 
whom he has to deal in these homes have gone wrong through 
ignorance." A considerable proportion of these, of course, 
are ignorant because of mental defectiveness. 

Ignorance of the dangers of immorality must not be con- 
fused with lack of formal school education. Even though the 
rate of illegitimacy was higher among a literate than an il- 
literate group, we must not conclude that ignorance is not a 
factor. Usually among the illiterate the age of marriage is 
low and girls have hardly realized sex impulse when they 
enter the marriage relation. Where there is popular educa- 
tion this is not usually the case, but popular education does 
not imph^ a knowledge of sex hygiene nor protection against 
deception or ignorant connivance in sex irregularity. In the 
case of many young girls who have submitted to sex relations 
(the figures show that a considerable proportion are under 
eighteen) there is genuine ignorance, often so gross that the 
natural consequence of immorality is not even known. The 
Chicago statistics showing that 44 out of 163 girls did not 
know the consequences of their act indicate an appalling 
amount of ignorance. The proportion in the entire commu- 
nity would undoubtedly be much smaller, since these cases 
were all included among the women bringing bastardy 
charges. These women, no doubt, have the best grounds for 
a successful court case, while others guilty of previous irregu- 
larity are less inclined to risk court action. Nevertheless, the 
figures show that the danger of ignorance is a real one to be 
met and overcome. In the great majority of cases, the ignor- 
ance is less acute, but often the knowledge is not sufficient 
to deter girls from indulgence in what seems to them a slight 
immorality. Eventually they awaken, but too late, to the full 
realization of their misdeeds. 

The English Poor Law Commission divides the mothers 
into three classes ; the feeble-minded, the group more sinned 
against than sinning, and the consciously immoral. It is this 
second group which includes the normal woman who has 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 49 

been tempted and who partly through ignorance and partly 
through the alluring temptation of the moment, stoops to 
illicit sex relations. 

Low ideals are most common among these unfortunate 
girls and the chief causes are defective home life, unwhole- 
some amusement, overcrowding, lack of religious and moral 
training and evil companionship. In order to gain adequate 
knowledge of both the individual and social causes of unlaw- 
ful motherhood a careful and painstaking case investigation 
of typical groups of mothers in various localities should be 
made. Such a study should consider the hereditary influ- 
ences, mentality, home life, education and training, compan- 
ionship, occupation, recreation and any other factor pertinent 
to the problem. Perhaps in this way only can the part taken 
by low ideals be given due weight. 

There can be no doubt that the girl without a mother is 
most hapless in her training for life and is often in danger of 
a wrong moral development. And if she has a mother but no 
father, economic conditions are usually unfavorable, with the 
result that oversight and training are quite impossible. Ac- 
cordingly, broken homes such as these, especially those in 
which the mother is a widow and must enter some remunerative 
occupation, contribute to child delinquency. Statistics by the fed- 
eral government based on a study of a limited number of juvenile 
delinquents showed that in the case of girls, 34.2 per cent, — 
a little more than one-third, — came from normal homes. Al- 
though these figures are based on the entire group of offenses 
committed, nearly one-half were guilty of immorality. In 
other words, the broken home contributes largely to the mor- 
al decadence of the children and actively promotes delin- 
quency. What is true of girls of juvenile court age undoubt- 
edly holds for many girls under 21. They form bad habits and 
associations, which naturally lead to immorality and illegiti- 
macy. The study of unmarried mothers in Chicago indicates 
that 61 per cent of the total number were suffering from a 



50 University of Missouri Studies 

broken or unnatural home life.^^ The majority, indeed, had 
both parents living, but in the case of a considerable number 
of immigrant girls, the parents were still in Europe and the 
girls lived under abnormal conditions. 

In Philadelphia, in 1915, out of 129 v^^omen appearing 
in court in fornication and bastardy cases, about v^hom home 
conditions were known, only 31 came from fair or good homes. 
The rest or three-fourths of the total number came from 
homes characterized by cruelty, neglect of children, poverty, 
drunkenness, immorality and other low standards. 

The broken home results in lack of oversight and guard- 
ianship. The girls run wild and soon reap the consequences. 
Step-parents also frequently repel their step-children so that 
the latter form new and doubtful associations. A large per- 
centage of the children of unmarried mothers go wrong, an 
important cause of this result being the handicap of an in- 
complete home, to which such children are condemned. 

Unwholesome home life impresses its consequences on 
the girlhood of today with extremely sad results. Parents 
have low ideals ; fathers corrupt their daughters, and mothers 
train them in immorality. The federal government reports 
that 129 out of 190, or nearly 67.89 per cent, of the girls stud- 
ied who were charged with immorality, suffered from "un- 
favorable home conditions." This term included "dirty, un- 
sanitary, or over-crowded conditions, as well as all the in- 
fluences due to the character and habits of the parents or 
other members of the household. "^° The conclusion is also 
reached that among girls the neighborhood counts for less 
than with boys, but that the home assumes the predominant 
place. In regard to 21 mentally normal unmarried mothers 
the Boston Conference on Illegitimacy reported that nine had 
good family influences, although the comment relative to one 

^^Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago — *A Study of Bas- 
tardy Cases." 

^"Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United States — VoL 
VIII, pp. 132-134. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 51 

was, "family does not seem to condemn the lapse of virtue 
severely," and to another, "one mother said to be immoral." 
Ten of the mothers had suffered from poor family influences, 
including immorality, illegitimacy, intemperance, gambling 
and prostitution. Two of the girls had come to the United 
States without their parents and accordingly were under in- 
dependent influences. In an investigation of the conditions 
underlying child neglect in St. Louis it was ascertained that 
out of 728 children having living mothers, 246 or 33.7 per 
cent suffered from the delinquency of their mothers. The 
chief forms of misconduct were prostitution, adultry, immor- 
ality and drunkenness, many of the mothers being each guilty 
of two or more of these serious offenses. ^^ 

When one stops to consider the proportion of mothers of 
neglected children who are carrying on such forms of wicked- 
ness and exposing their children, especially their daughters, 
to moral contamination of this sort, it is no mystery why 
many girls go wrong. When mothers set the example, daugh- 
ters may be expected to follow. Added to this most demoral- 
izing condition is the existence of the common law marriage 
which in the United States gives both parents a considerable 
amount of freedom and results in frequent short time mar- 
riages and promiscuous relations that bode no good to the 
children, especially the daughters in a family. The sanctity 
of marriage is not taught and girls come to consider the sex 
relation as an innocent pleasure. 

Overcrowding 

Overcrowding generally results in the breakdown of pri- 
vacy, and although immoral conduct between members of a 
family may not occur, low ideals are established and these 
frequently culminate in illegitimacy. However, the English 



"^Persons, C. E. — "Neglected Children in St. Louis" — An unpub- 
lished report of a study made in the Missouri School of Social Econ- 
omy. 



52 University of Missouri Studies 

figures tend to throw doubt on these conclusions. Nixon has 
compared the illegitimacy rate with the percentage of popula- 
tion overcrowded and found that the relation between the two 
was so indefinite that he felt the burden of proof rested on 
those who contended that overcrowding leads to illegitimacy. 
In one group of towns he discovered that a high percentage 
of overcrowding was associated with a low rate of illegiti- 
macy; in another group the overcrowding was low but the 
illegitimacy high. Nevertheless, other factors must have en- 
tered to produce these results. Certain it is that bad housing 
and overcrowding are closely associated with juvenile delin- 
quency, and low ideals once formed are likely to mature 
shortly and result in many dangerous forms of immorality, 
of which prostitution and illegitimacy are the chief varieties. 

American statistics, while they indicate some relation Idc- 
tween congestion and immorality and juvenile delinquen- 
cy, have proven little in regard to illegitimacy. In fact, the 
analysis of the group of unmarried mothers studied in Chi- 
cago showed that the average number of rooms per apartment 
was 4.41 and number of occupants 5.6, thus representing 
fairly good conditions. That the type of housing facilities 
provided is a factor appears from the Scotch statistics, accord- 
ing to which the level of moral conditions varies inversely as 
the relative comforts and conveniences offered the servant 
classes. An environment which consists of lack of privacy 
must undermine morals and ideals and lead to immorality. 
The relationship of cause and effect is, however, obscured by 
other factors. 

Among the poor in our large cities the two and three 
room apartments are the most frequent. The former cannot 
separate the sexes so as to avoid danger to morals; the lat- 
ter can do so only with the greatest difficulty. The average 
family among the poor is larger than for the community as 
a whole and, therefore, presents a more serious problem. 
Overcrowding is, of course, usually a result, not a cause. It 
is forced on a family by poverty. That the possession of prop- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 53 

erty and of a fair competence tends to maintain low rates of 
illegitimacy is indicated by the favorable showing among the 
land-holding peasants of various parts of Europe. 

Nevertheless, the well-to-do sections of Ireland have 
higher rates than the poorer ones. On the other hand, such 
prosperity as that indicated by the presence of a large class 
of small land-holders seems to favor morality. Dalmatia, 
with many small peasant holdings has extraordinary low 
rates — 3.8 per cent. Certain parts of Bavaria blessed in a 
similar way, yield similar results. Where there are few land- 
holders and the employed or tenant groups are conspicuous, 
there we find less prudence and foresight and often lower 
moral standards. In these respects urban districts present 
a decided contrast with rural communities. No doubt an ex- 
cess of rural rates, as in England, is somewhat affected by 
the unfavorable distribution of land ownership. 

Unwholesome Recreation 

Recreation is a factor of no mean importance. The ser- 
vant girl, either compelled to entertain her friends in the 
kitchen or a stuffy attic, or required to find recreation wherev- 
er opportunity may afford, suffers most severely from the 
handicaps of a questionable environment. Without a surplus 
of morality, the young woman addicted to the commercial 
recreations of the day soon loses that gloss of virtue which 
has been her pride. Refinement is lost and vulgarity takes 
its place. Out of eighteen cases of illegitimacy recently 
handled in a certain hospital, the women in six cases were 
constant patrons of the commercial dance hall. In the coun- 
try districts the dance hall frequently leads to immorality. 
In the cities girls suffer much from association with vulgar 
men. Men hardened in vice begin to break down the stand- 
ards of the young women until finally the compensation de- 
manded for their companionship is nothing less than the surren- 
der of virtue. Young women in our juvenile courts are con- 
stantly revealing the fact that many girls expect to grant such 



54 University of Missouri Studies 

compensation and that the young men demand it. Without 
austere morals and resolute wills they cannot deny such re- 
quests and save themselves. The study of bastardy cases in 
Chicago to which we have previously alluded also confirms 
the general conclusions that we have stated. None of the 
girls habitually sought recreation provided by philanthropic 
or social institutions but the great majority did patronize 
commercial amusements with their constant temptations and 
abounding vulgarity. Constant dangers therefore confront 
young women wherever recreation is largely commercialized 
and little public supervision exists. Only too often certain 
men patronize dance halls for the sole purpose of meeting at- 
tractive girls and persuading them to surrender their virtue. 
There is great danger that immorality will among certain 
groups become practically contagious. Often young men en- 
ter into a compact to force illicit relations with their female 
companions. The pleasure of an occasion is tested by the 
opportunity for immorality. The young women are made to 
understand that they are receiving pleasure and enjoyment 
which can be paid for adequately in only one way. An illus- 
tration of this situation has been given by the girls' protec- 
tive association working in a large city.^^ One of the girls 
coming under its care related the story of her downfall. She 
had gone to a "truck" party, which consisted of an outing in 
the country, a large truck being used as the vehicle of loco- 
motion. The woods yielded the necessary privacy. When 
asked about the other couples she confessed that they were 
all alike and that the girls would be left alone or forced to 
associate with each other entirely if they did not make these 
concessions to the young men. Escapades such as this one 
finally lower the ideal of chastity and the young women 
come to regard their indiscretion as a trivial matter, but 
many are finally jolted into a realization of its seriousness 
when the terrible, facts of illegitimacy and unwanted mother- 
hood confront them. Meanwhile the content of pleasure as 

^^Girls' Protective Association of St. Louis. First Report. 1920 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 55 

defined by the young men is standardized at a point where 
it necessarily involves immorality. 

Drunkenness 

A consideration formerly of much importance was the 
excessive use of intoxicants. Alcohol has an insidious ef- 
fect on the human being. It is well known that it weakens 
the powers of inhibition and makes its victims susceptible 
to suggestions of many kinds. It certainly stimulates passion 
and thereby promotes immorality. Picnics, boat excursions, 
public dances and other forms of amusement and recreation 
frequently culminated, in former days, in the intoxication of 
the young men and in the moral relaxation of the young wom- 
en. Will power surrendered to the passions and illegitimate 
children told the story of the moral lapses that had occurred. 
Often the girl was overcome with liquor through the design- 
ing efforts of some vicious man and while in this condition 
readily yielded to the importunities of her companion. The 
disappearance of the open saloon has greatly reduced this 
cause of immorality, but the danger exists so long as intoxi- 
cants may be obtained even though they be procured in a 
clandestine manner. 

While sober, the great majority of these young people 
would not seriously consider irregular relations, but the fire 
of alcohol temporarily inflames their sex emotions; and after 
their debauch they bitterly regret their actions, but it is too 
late. 

These conclusions are well substantiated by the facts 
showing the relation between the saloon and prostitution. It 
has been clearly demonstrated that the social evil shrinks 
perceptibly when alcoholic liquors are not available to weak- ■ 
en the power of men and women over their animal instincts. 
Keepers of houses of ill repute have constantly fought the 
repression of the liquor traffic because they know that these 
houses flourish more abundantly if opportunity for indulgence 
in alcoholic liquors is provided. The enforcement of national 



56 University of Missouri Studies 

prohibition should become a factor of material importance in 
reducing illicit sex relations. 

Sexual Suggestibility 

An interesting and important physical state is that known 
as sexual suggestibility. Some women and probably a larger 
number of men are abnormally excitable as to sexual mat- 
ters and accordingly are prone to yield to the impulse quite 
regardless of its possible consequences. In some instances, 
no doubt, this passion is an inherited trait, in others it is due 
to unusual development and personal conditions, such as early 
sex experiences, masturbation, immoral suggestions, access to 
lewd pictures, etc. Many delinquent girls are practically in- 
capable of self-control and finally accept their physical con- 
dition and desires as normal. Kammerer credits sexual sug- 
gestibility and erotic tendency with being largely responsible 
for illegitimacy in 66 out of 500 cases. ^^ However, in the 
majority of instances the woman was susceptible only to the 
importunities of a certain man, usually her sweetheart. Prob- 
ably the desire to please was a factor in many of these cases 
and a contributory cause of considerable importance. 

Healey, in analyzing the causative factors in the produc- 
tion of delinquency, finds that improper sex habits and ex- 
periences were main factors in 50 per cent of the cases stud- 
ied and minor factors in over 20 per cent.^* 

Although the delinquencies considered were varied in 
character and did not in most instances culminate in sex 
offenses, the study is valuable for our purpose because of the 
large number of delinquent acts traceable to abnormal sex 
habit. 

Causes According to Kammerer 
In his excellent case study of 500 unmarried mothers 

^^The Unmarried Mother, p. 320. 
^*The Individual Delinquent, p. 130. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 57 

Kammerer has minutely analyzed the causes responsible for 
each woman's misstep, exclusive of the defective group. The 
table that follows presents kis conclusions :^^ 

CAUSES OF ILLEGITIMACY 



No. 


of times a 


No. of times a 


Total No. of 


Causes major factor 


minor factor 


times appeared 








as factor 


Bad Environment 


29 


56 


85 


Bad Companions 


8 


136 


144 . 


Recreational Disadvantag 


es .... 


22 


22 ^ 


Educational Disadvantages — . 


20 


20 


Bad Home conditions 


194 


158 


353 


Early Sex Experience 


.... 


25 


25 


Physical Abnormality 


6 


53 


5ft 


Sexual Suggestibility 


27 


16 


43 


Sexually suggestible 








by one individual 


38 


4 


42 


Abnormal Sexualism 


1 


1 


2 


Mental Conflicts 


3 


2 


5 


Defects of Heredity 





48 


48 


Assault, Rape, Incest 


14 





14 


Not analyzed 


13 


.... 


.... 


Total 


333 






Suggestive of Mental 








Abnormality 


167 
500 







Lack of Religious Training 

The failure to give effective moral and religious training 
to our young people cannot be overlooked. No one can truth- 
fully gainsay that excellent religious instruction would go 
far toward inculcating ethical ideals which would reduce the 
tendency toward sex immorality. It is true that those ignor- 

"^Work cited, p. 320. 



58 University of Missouri Studies 

ant of sex matters but morally sound occasionally fall; but 
more often their moral stamina will triumph. Knowledge of 
sex and sex hygiene without a working conscience will not 
abolish immorality ; it might reduce some of its consequences, 
especially illegitimacy through the knowledge of preventive 
methods that would inevitably be attained. The decline of 
religious control has undoubtedly served to lower moral 
standards and to make them less coercive than formerly. 
Writers frequently confuse church affiliation with religion 
and therefore reach peculiar conclusions as to the relation 
of such affiliation to illegitimacy. It is not church connection 
but genuine training in moral power and capacity for virtue 
that counts. Religious connections are often merely nominal. 
Therefore the standards of morality that prevail do not re- 
flect the effect which the intensive cultivation of a religious 
life might produce. They are an indication of the general or 
community effect of an organized religion but not of the in- 
fluence of a particular denomination on the individual. 

Illegitimacy and the War 

So tremendous a disturbance of social life as the late war 
is certain to produce a considerable effect on the morals of 
a country. The withdrawal of millions of men from civilian 
life and their complete separation from the opposite sex repre- 
sents a serious social abnormality. On the other hand, the 
training and discipline which the men received must have 
produced decidedly beneficial effects. However, the commu- 
nity effects were much better than the individual results. 
The social hygiene movement for example was advanced 
many years. Certain exceptional results were also exper- 
ienced. The irresistibility of the uniform led to the downfall 
of many a hapless girl. Often the soldier boy was duped by 
an older and immoral woman with serious consequences both 
to him and the woman. 

In England the annual number of illegitimate births oc- 
curring after the war began declined slightly, but the per- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 59 

centage of illegitimate to total births rose. In Milan, Italy, 
the proportion rose and in 1916, 9.4 per cent of all births in 
that city were recorded as illegitimate. The effects produced 
in this country cannot be statistically stated. ^^ 

One of the most menacing aspects of the whole problem 
is the relative decline in the proportion of the male popula- 
tion. In most countries as a result of the war there are now 
many more women than men. There is great danger that 
this abnormal condition will result in a wide-spread disturb- 
ance of moral standards with such consequences as adultery, 
illegitimacy and immoral relations of divers kinds. Unless 
drastic methods of prevention are adopted it is difficult to see 
how results can be otherwise. Fortunately for the United 
States these disproportions and their accompanying dangers 
do not occur here except in a few localities. 

Personal and Social Conditions Affecting Illegitimacy 

In addition to the direct causes, the prevalence of illegiti- 
macy is profoundly affected by a variety of personal and so- 
cial conditions. These, although they are not to be regarded 
as causes of the evil, are factors which lessen or accentuate 
its seriousness. The most important ones are : age, occupa- 
tion, religious affiliation, country or urban residence and 
proportion of unmarried men and women. Besides these 
there are others of minor value. 

Age 

Among the most significant conditions underlying illegit- 
imacy is the age of mothers. Has the period of physical ma- 
turity been reached? Are the mothers entitled by age to bear 
the full responsibility for their downfall? Is the age distri- 
bution everywhere approximately the same? Questions such 
as these array themselves before the sociologist and ask for an 

^ ^Lundberg, Emma — "Illegitimacy in Europe and the War." Na- 
tional Conference of Social Work, 1917. p. 300. 



60 University of Missouri Studies 

answer. The light which statistics throw upon this subject 
is partially indicated in the following table showing the ages 
of mothers of illegitimate children. For the localities stated 
in the subjoined table it has been possible to divide the mothers 
into two groups, those under 21 and those 21 and over. 

AGE OF MOTHERS 



Locality 




Date 




Number cases 


Ages 














Percentage 


Percentage 












Under 21 


21 


and over 


Washington, 


D. C. 














white 




1913 




113 


37.17 




62.83 


colored 




1913 




487 


65.5 




34.5 


Philadelphia 
















white 




1915 




591 


52.9 




47.1 


colored 




1915 




364 


65.9 




34.1 


St. Louis 
















white 




1912- 


13 


1079 


55.7 




44.3 


colored 




1912- 


13 


271 


69.7 




30.3 


Australia 




1910-12 


20691 


37.05 




62.95 


Ohio 




1913 




1290 


60.1 




39.9 


Baden 




1902 




4284 


31.8 




68.2 


U. S. Birth Regis- 














tration Area 


1918 




22765 


45.2* 




54.8* 



Surprising differences seem to exist in regard to the pro- 
portion in each age group. In Baden it is low among those 
under 21 ; in the American cities it is higher, while in St. 
Louis and in Ohio the number is excessively large. In fact, 
more detailed figures indicate that illegitimacy among Amer- 
ican girls of 15, 16, and 17, is far more common than among 
German girls, and these facts hold for both colored and white 
girls. Examples of %egro girls of 12 or 13 are not rare and 
many white girls of 13 have suffered the pangs of unwanted 

*Age classification for birth registration area is ''under 20" and 
"20 and over". 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 61 

motherhood. In the American cities it appears that a greater 
incidence of illegitimacy occurs among girls in the 18th and 
19th year of their lives than at any other period. It is prob- 
able that the great majority of the unmarried mothers in the 
United States over 25 years of age have practiced immorality 
before reaching this age. At 18 girls become marriageable 
and beyond this age the proportion of single girls rapidly de- 
clines. Accordingly, the higher age groups offer less rela- 
tive opportunity for illegitimacy. In Baden, however, the 
twentieth year represents the age of greatest frequency and 
the leading years are 19 to 23 inclusive. Using 21 years as a 
dividing line, we find that serious differences also exist. In 
the first place, about two-thirds of the colored fall below this 
age, but the greater proportion of white women are more 
than 21. Nevertheless, wide differences in these respects are 
noted among various sections of the United States. 

Owing to the various age groupings made by the different 
statistical bureaus, satisfactory comparisons cannot be made. 
It has been possible, however, to ascertain for several locali- 
ties the proportion of unmarried mothers that fall within the 
age group 20-24 years. In St. Louis about 40 per cent are 
classified in this group, but in Baden the figures for 1902 were 
63.1 per cent, while in Berlin the proportion in 1907 was 46.2 
per cent. It is significant also that in Germany a much larger 
proportion than in the American cities are more than 25 years 
of age. The births in Berlin may, for the purposes of illustra- 
tion, be compared with the white births in St. Louis. In the for- 
mer city 32.3 per cent of the unmarried mothers were over 25 ; 
in the latter only 15.9 per cent. On the whole it appears that 
immorality manifests itself in the early years of life of the 
young woman in America and rather quickly runs its course. 
In Germany it appears later and lasts longer. As a conse- 
quence, a large proportion of American girls are immature 
and with difficulty able to care for their babies, while in Ger- 
many the great majority are mature in years if not in mind. 

The facts presented above relate to the ages of various 



62 University of Missouri Studies 

groups of unmarried mothers without reference to the num- 
ber of pregnancies that have occurred. Since some of the 
women have previously undergone motherhood, the age at 
the time of first pregnancy will be lower than the figures giv- 
en in the foregoing table. Kammerer has been able to obtain 
facts bearing on this question and his statistics show that 333 
or 66 per cent of the 500 mothers studied conceived their first 
child before they were 21 years old, and that 45, or 9 per cent 
were less than 16 years of age. If these cases are typical 
of the New England unmarried mother they constitute an 
astounding revelation of the youth of these unfortunate girls. 
Nixon presents a unique table which relates illegitimacy to 
the age of unmarried women. 

RATE OF ILLEGITIMACY ACCORDING TO AGE OF UN- 
MARRIED WOM'EN^^ 
(Australia) 





Annual 


rate per 


1000 


Rate per 1000 


Age 


unmarried women of 


total births 




child-t 


)earinig ages 




14 




.42 




841 


15 




1.68 




765 


16 




4.34 




563 


17 




8.15 




415 


18 




13.30 




315 


19 




17.18 




230 


20 




17.45 




172 


21-24 




17.72 




80 


25-29 




15.83 




35 


30-34 




12.85 




22 


35-39 




11.74 




21 


40-44 




6.13 




19 


45-49 




1.41 




29 


TOTAL 




11.61 




57 



"Table taken from Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Vol. 
77, p. 853. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 63 

According to the foregoing table illegitimacy is most prev- 
alent among women from 21 to 24 years of age, but the 
rates among those from 25 to 39 are exceedingly high. In fact 
the age of 30 is exceeded before the rate falls to that recorded 
for girls of 18. The figures showing the proportion of all 
births that are illegitimate are very significant. More than 
four-fifths of the births among girls of 14 are illegitimate, 
but this proportion rapidly declines w4th advancing age, and 
the age groups presenting the highest rates show a proportion 
of only 80 illegitimate per 1000 births, or 8 per cent. These 
statistics indicate that among the younger girls sex relations 
are infrequent, but those that occur are largely contrary to 
legel sanction. 

As girls grow older they marry thereby leaving fewer in- 
dividuals to satisfy their sex hunger in illicit ways, but the 
unmarried women are restless and for many years a large 
nvimber stoop to immorality. Gradually habits become fixed 
and illicit sex life declines. The general facts as to age seem 
to indicate that the restless sex impulse reaches a physical 
climax in the late "teens" and early twenties, and that after 
this period of life it is either subjected to gradual control by 
will power and righteous desire, or its force is lost to public 
view through the avenue of marriage. 

Occupation 

One of the most perplexing conditions underlying illegiti- 
macy is the occupations of the mothers. The great difficulty 
lies in determining the significance of the facts. The follow- 
ing table shows the relative distribution of illegitimacy among 
the various occupations in Berlin for the year 1905 and prob- 
ably presents conditions not materially different from those 
prevailing since that time to the present. 



64 University of Missouri Studies 

ILLEGITIMACY AND OCCUPATIONS IN BERLIN^' 



Percentage of Women in Specified Occupa- 
tions 



OCCUPATION 



Farm and garden 

and fishing 

Metal and Implement 

Textile 

Paper and Leather 

Food materials 

Clothing 

Cleaning 

Printing 

Insurance, Trade 

Transportation 

and marine service 

Hotel 

Other trades 

Photography 

Servant 

Other personal service 

Laborers 

Nursing 

Teaching 

Artist 

Rentier 

Literature and 

newspaper 

No occupation or pre- 
paring for trade 

Not designated 

Total 

Total number 



irried mothers 


Occupations of women 


(1905) 


marrying, 1905-1906 — at 




time of marriage 


.2 


.2 


.3 


.8 


.4 


.8 


.0 


.8 


.4 


.3 


18.7 


25.6 


3.4 


3.8 


.8 


.9 


7.3 


• 8.7 


.3 


* 


L5 


.7 


.4 


1.0 


.2 


.1 


30.7 


19.4 


1.5 


1.2 


25.3 


12.9 


.5 


.5 


.5 


.5 


.5 


.4 


.1 


.2 



5.0 
1.7 



100.00 
9402 



.2 

18.3 

2.7 

100.00 
45521 



^Statistiches Yahrbuch der Stadt Berlin (1906-07) 1909. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 65 

In the foregoing table is given the distribution of the un- 
married mothers of 1905 among the various occupations. The 
best available comparison with these figures is made by using 
the occupational distribution of women who married during 
this period. A number of very interesting contrasts appear. 
For example, 30.7 per cent of the unmarried mothers were 
servants, although only 19.4 per cent of the girls marrying 
came from this group. Among "laborers" the respective pro- 
portions were 25.3 per cent and 12.9 per cent, or a relation of 
two to one. The girls in the clothing industry furnished 18.7 
per cent of the illegitimacy but more than 25 per cent of the 
group who married. Among hotel girls the rate of illegiti- 
macy was high but among the unemployed and student class 
it was very low. It is quite clear that certain occupations 
yield a much heavier proportion of illegitimacy than others, 
but the extent to which these occupational conditions are 
causal factors cannot be determined since we cannot tell how 
far these occupations attract women of low standards. Moral 
hazards seem to be greatest among servants, hotel girls and 
laborers. These facts are also borne out by statistics for 1891 
which show that in Berlin among 1000 unmarried women in 
a specified occupation the number of illegitimate births was 
as follows :-^ 

Laborers, 46.5; without trade, 42; hotel workers, 37.1; 
personal service, 26.1 ; and clothing and cleaning, 25.8. Here, 
however, the laborers rank first and personal service only 
fourth, while the girls without a trade furnish a very high rate 
and rank second. 

Some figures presented by Lange for Baden and covering 
the three years 1894-1896 corroborate in general the conclu- 
sions reached in regard to Berlin. ^*^ Although the statistics 
are no longer recent, there is no reason to suppose that the 

^Linder, Frederick: Die Unehliche Geburten als Social Phano- 
men. 

^"Lange, Aug. Die Unehlichen Geburten in Baden. 



66 University of Missouri Studies 

proportions among the various occupations have undergone 
any considerable change. An item of interest is the classifi- 
cation of the total number into tv^o groups — the independent 
and the dependent, the former being largely self-employed, 
the latter serving for pay. 

Lange drawls conclusions based on the facts for more than 
224,000 unmarried women, most of them engaged in some 
gainful occupation. Out of this total, 4,837 or 2.15 per cent 
gave birth to illegitimate children. It is noteworthy that 
among the seven groups into which the occupational condi- 
tions were divided, official and professional service furnished 
the lowest rates of illegitimacy -.37 per cent, or about one 
instance out of every 262 women. These women, whether 
independent or employed, possess a high level of educational 
attainment and, as should be expected, led every group in 
their standards of morality. Close on their heels was another 
group consisting of students, orphans and dependents of va- 
rious kinds, most of whom, however, were peculiarly protected 
by their environment for the time being. Here we find that 
every 155th woman became a mother. These are the only 
general groups, except the so-called independent class, in 
which less than one per cent of the girls went wrong. Among 
the remainder there was a considerably larger proportion. 
The tradeswomen came next and the agricultural group, from 
whom better results should have been expected, followed with 
a slightly larger rate. It seems that the rural women be- 
trayed less immorality than did the women of the country as 
a whole, nevertheless, particular classes inhabiting the towns 
and cities gave objective evidence of a superior morality. 
Without doubt these groups differed somewhat in mental 
quality and the brighter women displayed the greater cau- 
tion. One-fifth of the total number were not gainfully em- 
ployed and of these a small proportion were classified as in- 
depend'ent; they furnished but few illegitimate children. 
Most of this group, however, consisted of women from the 
lower economic strata, with little or no means of their own. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 67 

They exceeded the average rate for the country, the figure 
actually reaching 2.5 per cent, or one woman out of 40. 
Furthermore, the number of women falling into this group 
justifies the claim that this rate is valid for women of this 
class. The dependent woman without an occupation, or 
temporarily unemployed, apparently encounters many pit- 
falls and expresses her temptations in the unfortunate terms 
of unwanted motherhood. 

Lange's figures show that the rate among women en- 
gaged in mining and manufacturing and in domestic ser- 
vice and common labor was about the same, and that this 
figure leads the various occupational groups. But certain 
manufacturing industries yielded rates far above the aver- 
age for the group and greatly exceeding those prevailing in 
domestic service. For example, the machinery industry fur- 
nished three times the proportion returned for domestic ser- 
vice. There was also a great disproportion between the per- 
centage of cases coming from dependent and the independent 
groups. The former had a rate of 2.4 per cent, the latter of 
only .9 per cent, or about two-fifths as much. These differ- 
ences are so wide as to indicate that important social, legal, 
and perhaps physical conditions handicap the wage-earn- 
ing group. Without doubt such high rates as those 
prevailing in the manufacturing industries depend in 
large part on a depleting social environment. Comparing 
domestic service with the rates among the dependent class 
to which this occupation belongs we find that there was only 
a slight excess of illegitimacy among this group. In Baden, 
therefore, it appears that domestic service furnishes little 
more than the expected rate. The higher classes, that is, the 
better educated group, whether independent or employed, 
yield the lowest rates. 

In the United States the facts in regard to occupation 
are almost w^anting. In the first place there are few reports 
of the amount of illegitimacy and still fewer analyses of the 
social conditions of the parents. The following table pre- 



68 



University of Missouri Studies 



senting information relating to the occupational distribution 
of mothers in St. Louis, Philadelphia and Milwaukee and in 

PERCENTAGE OF UNMARRIED MOTHERS IN SPECIFIED 
OCCUPATIONS'' 

OCCUPATION CITY OR STATE 

St. Louis Mil- Boston Wiscon- Phila- Cincin- 

waukee sin delphia nati 

1911-13 08-13 1913 1914-18 1910 1915 1912-14 

Domestic, House- 
wife & House- 
keeper 60.3 68.0 38.0 44.6 . 71.9 73.6 59.4 

Factory 7.65 &.8 21.7 31.4 1.25 12.7 9.9 

Laundry 4.5 a 1.2 2.8 .4 1.3 

Waitress 2.7 .9 8.9 6.6 a 2.1 1.7 

Clerk & Store 3.0 4.4 3.3 4.2 2.08 1.5 3.8 

Seamstress & 

Milliner 3.15 2.3 3.7 .... 2.28 2.4 5.4 

Telephone 95 a .... 1.4 .4 1.1 1.4 

Student or 

School girl .. 2.15 2.4 2.4 .... 3.0 2.6 2.0 

Office 2.1 1.1 4.5 1.2 1.94 1.5 2.7 

Teacher 1.2 1.2 a .6 1.25 a 1.0 

No occupation in- 
cluding "at 

home" 10.4 8.4 7.8 4.4 10.4 b 10.3 

Miscellaneous 1.9 4.5 8.5 2.8 4.4 1.2 2.4 

Total Number .... 2010 1524 331 500 721 1151 666 
Occupations un- 
known 72 136 110 38 

Grand Total 2082 1660 831 1189 

a. Percentage almost negligible. 

b. Included under "Occupations Unknown." 



^Mangold, G. B. and Essex, Lou R. — "Illegitimate Births in St, Louis, "^ 
Report of Wisconsin Vice Committee — p. 137. 
Studies of the Boston Conference on Illegitimacy. 
Report of Philadelphia Board of Health. 
Trounstine, Helen S. — "Illegitimacy in Cincinnati." 
Figures for Boston, 1914-18, based on 500 cases handled by So- 
ciety for Helping Destitute Mothers & Infants. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 69 

Wisconsin will, however, indicate the types of conditions 
which are to be expected and which very likely prevail in the 
large cities throughout the country. The statistics for 331 
out of 858 unmarried mothers in Boston are also indicated, 
but it is not likely that these figures are typical since they 
refer only to those cases coming under the observation of the 
charitable organizations. 

The percentages in the above table are based on the num- 
ber of women having a known, or no, occupation, and those 
for whom information was lacking were excluded from the 
computation on the assumption that in their cases the occu- 
pational distribution would be very similar to that of the 
known cases. Comparing domestics with the entire number 
of women we discover that in St. Louis they form 58.2 per 
cent of all and in Milwaukee 62.6 per cent. On the other 
hand, by limiting the consideration to those mothers whose 
occupational status was known, as was done in the foregoing 
table we find that in St. Louis 60.3 per cent and in Milwaukee 
68.0 per cent were domestics. The Wisconsin Vice Commit- 
tee relates the mothers to women employed in Milwaukee and 
finds that among domestics the rate of illegitimacy is 2.9 per 
cent, among waitresses, .59 per cent; clerks, .33 per cent; and 
among other occupations is still lower. This would indicate 
an excessive disproportion among domestics but the figures 
are somewhat vitiated by the fact that 30 per cent of the 
girls came from outside the city. The occupational distri- 
bution of working women in the rural districts diflfers widely 
from that of the large industrial centers. In Boston among 
331 girls, 38 per cent were domestics, 21.7 factory workers; 
then followed waitresses and the "at home" group. 

In Cleveland out of 175 unmarried mothers studied 100 
or 57 per cent were classified as engaged in housework, about 
10 per cent were employed in factories and a similar number 
in offices and stores. Kammerer, in his study, classified 31.6 
per cent as domestics, 26.2 per cent as factory workers^and 



70 University of Missouri Studies 

these were followed in order by the *'at home" group, wait- 
resses, school girls and mercantile employments.^^ 

English statistics for 1911 show that ind'oor domestics 
are responsible for 45 per cent, and all domestics for 55 per 
cent, of the illegitimate births. Corresponding figures for 
unmarried women at work are 32 per cent for indoor domes- 
tic work and 35.3 per cent for all forms of domestic work. 
Mr. Nixon, whose figures we give, does not place much value 
on the statistics for domestic service because of the hetero- 
geneous types in Great Britain. Accurate comparisons like- 
wise cannot be made in the United States because the classi- 
fications by local health departments and the census bureau 
are not sufficiently identical. Nevertheless, it is clear that 
there is a considerable preponderance of illegitimate births 
among the servant class. 

The relation of domestic service to immorality is also 
indicated in the federal investigation of juvenile delinquency 
and its relation to employment. It is shown that a consider- 
able proportion of servants become involved with members 
of the household, but general conditions are held largely re- 
sponsible for these exorbitant rates. Among the causes men- 
tioned are : the loneliness of the life, the lack of opportuni- 
ties for making friends and securing recreation and amuse- 
ment in safe surroundings, the monotonous and uninteresting 
nature of the work done, lack of external stimulus to pride 
and self-respect and the unguarded state of the girl except 
when directly under the eye of her mistress. Borosini adds, 
that ''Most unmarried mothers are recruited from among 
poorly paid and insufficiently protected industrial workers 
and domestics." It is probable that domestics as a group 
are somewhat below the average in education. Added to this 
are their scant facilities for companionship and social life, 
due largely to the discrimination, if not snobbery, prevalent 
among mistresses. Long hours and excessive isolation also 

^"The Unmarried Mother"— p. 329. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 71 

drive many girls to irregular habits, and the desire to secure 
relief in recreation often results in the patronage of question- 
able amusement places. 

Religion 

The relation of religion to the prevalence of illegitimacy 
is not very clear. The European statistics show that Roman 
Catholic Ireland has the lowest rate of illegitimacy in Eu- 
rope. It further appears that while the rates in Protestant 
North Ireland are low, those in Catholic South and South- 
west Ireland are considerably lower. In addition, Protestant 
Ireland is more well-to-do than Catholic Ireland and should 
have better opportunities and less temptations for young 
women. 

Russia follows Ireland and has extremely low rates. 
Here the Greek church dominates and influences morals. 
When we cross over into Austria ■ we find that a Catholic 
country has among the highest rates of illegitimacy found 
in Europe. In studying the Protestant peoples it appears that 
the widest deviations are discoverable. Parts of Protestant 
Germany yield most alarming rates, but in Netherlands, Eng- 
land and the United States the rates are decidedly lower. 

Leffingwell says that five European countries, three 
Catholic and two Protestant, exceed Japan in their propor- 
tion of illegitimacy.^^ 

Lindner, in his study of Bavaria for the years 1889-95, 
finds that taking the country as a whole the rate for Cath- 
olics was slightly in excess of that for Protestants. In the 
cities he found a large disproportion, represented by the fig- 
ures 23.1 and 15.6, but in the provinces (cities being excluded) 
the Protestants had a slightly higher rate. In the villages 
and small towns conditions are apparently very different from 
those prevailing in the large cities. The absolute rates are 
lower and the inequalities between the two religions less. 

''See Webb, A. D., New Dictionary of Statistics. "Birth Rates."' 



72 University of Missouri Studies 

It appears that in the cities the social status of Catholics and 
Protestants differs and that this difference is a considerable 
factor. Catholicism or Protestantism as religions have ap- 
parently influenced the situation but little. The dispropor- 
tions w^hich exist are based not so much on religion as on 
social conditions and the status that sometimes seems to ac- 
company them. These conclusions, however, do not hold 
for the Jev^s, among v^hom the rate of illegitimacy is very 
small. According to the Bavarian figures it is about one- 
eight of the general rate for the country. In a similar v^ay 
the statistics for Buda-Pesth clearly shoves a much low^er rate 
for the Jews. Townley-Fullam, quoting statistics for 1906, 
says that among Roman Catholics the rate of illegitimacy 
was 30.2 per cent, among two branches of Protestants, 30.8 
and 29.9 per cent respectively, but among the Jews the rate 
was only 11.7 per cent. 

The few American figures have no real statistical value. 
According to the information gathered for 286 women in Bos- 
ton 59 per cent were Protestant; and out of 419 women in 
Chicago and 223 in Philadelphia, the Catholics were repre- 
sented by 58 and 54 per cent respectively. It is not possible, 
however, to ascertain the proportionate religious affiliations 
of the population from which these women are drawn ; and 
therefore, no proper comparisons can be made. Each city, 
however, reports a rather small number of Jewesses. It is 
apparent from the varying statistics that factors other than 
religion, such as race, education, social status, economic con- 
ditions, and political relations, are primarily responsible for 
the wide differences that exist. It is likely that rates would 
be much higher if religious influences were absent, but the 
relative superiority of one religion over another as a deterrent 
factor cannot be weighed. However, the uniformly low rate 
among Jewish people is significant. 

Country or City Life 
The relation of rural and of city life to illegitimacy is 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 75 

apparently obscured by various social conditions. At any 
rate, different localities yield different results and prevent 
broad g-eneralizations on the subject. In some regions illegit- 
imacy is more common in cities; in others, in the rural dis- 
tricts. In England, in 1911, the rate per 1000 unmarried wom- 
en aged 15-45 years was 7.98, Yet the rate for London was 
only 6.47; that of other urban districts was 7.68, of the country 
boroughs 8.23, and of the rural districts 9.26. In Wales the 
rate was 9.51. It appears that the largest city had a relative- 
ly low rate ; that rates rose as cities decreased in size, and 
that the highest rate was charged against the country dis- 
tricts. In view of the usual migration of a considerable num- 
ber of unfortunate girls from the country to the cities the 
rural rate is not over-stated, and is evidently an indication 
of a real excess of illegitimacy in the country districts. This 
must not, however, be confused with an excess of immorality,, 
because it is well known that the city girl is more adept than 
the country woman in the art of preventing the natural ef- 
fects of her immorality, either by procuring abortion or by 
use of other methods. Even in England there is doubt wheth- 
er immorality is not more prevalent in the cities than in the 
rural districts. 

On the continent conditions are apparently reversed as 
is shown in the statistics presented for Bavaria and for 
France.^* 

RATE OF ILLEGITIMACY PER 100 BIRTHS 
France (1911) Bavaria (1910) 



Paris 1 


24.0 


Cities 100,001 to 550,000 ... 
Cities 30,001 to 100,000 


18.1 

15.1 


Cities 20,001 to 30,000 


12.2 


All France 


10.2 



Munich 


....26.8 (06) 


Cities 20,000 and over . 


....20.7 


Cities 2,000 to 20,000 . 


....11.0 


Cities under 2,000 


.... 9.5 


All Bavaria 


....12.3 (11) 



^Statistical Year Book of Bavaria and Statistical Year Book of 
France. 



74 University of Missouri Studies 

Here we see that as the size of towns and cities increases 
the percentage of illegitimacy rises. Not only is this true, 
but the largest cities have more than twice the proportion 
prevailing in the small tovv^ns. Without doubt this repre- 
sents a real excess in the cities as migration cannot account 
for more than a small percentage of the difference. Similar 
facts apply to such countries as Austria, Sweden and Den- 
mark, where the large cities report excessive rates of illegiti- 
macy. 

In the United States the statistics are still so meager 
that little information of value can be added. Especially is 
this true in view of the general inaccuracy of birth statistics. 
The figures for Ohio in 1909 indicated a rate of 38.8 illegiti- 
mate births per 100,000 population in cities and of 55.2 in 
rural districts. The rates in the large cities of Cleveland and 
Cincinnati, however, considerably exceeded the rural rate. 
Although these are crude rates, they would still appear to 
the disadvantage of the country if allowances were made for 
differences in conjugal conditions and other factors. On the 
other hand, in Michigan, the urban rate is more than 50 per 
cent above the rural rate and the largest proportions are also 
found in the biggest cities. In Wisconsin the rate for 1913 
was 1.5 per 100 births, but in Milwaukee it was 2.7, or over 
60 per cent higher than the average for the state and nearly 
twice the rate for the remainder. The figures for Ontario, 
Canada, are likewise interesting in this connection. For the 
entire province the rate in 1915 was 2.2, but for the cities it 
was 3.6, while for the towns it was only 1.4. For Ottawa it 
was 7.0 and for Toronto 4.27. Here the cities have much 
higher rates than the small towns which are often denounced 
for their reputed immorality. The figures for Ontario, how- 
ever, do not justify this charge, since it is clear that the rural 
rates are higher than those for the towns. So far as American 
statistics are available the preponderance of fact is clearly 
in favor of lower rates of illegitimacy in the rural districts. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 75 

Proportion of Unmarried Men and Women 

Among the factors that influence illegitimacy rates is 
the excessive disproportion of unmarried adults, especially 
if accompanied by unfavorable conditions as to housing and 
economic status. In his study of causes in England, Nixon 
has attempted to correlate the varying rates of illegitimacy 
with certain other factors. He concludes for example, that 
the employment of unmarried women is not correlated with 
illegitimacy, and that even if rather definite relations existed, 
the statistics would probably be vitiated because of the great- 
er prevalence of preventive methods among the occupied 
women. A comparison, however, of the relative number of 
unmarried men and unmarried women, and the rates of il- 
legitimacy, indicates a decided correlation. The presence of 
a large unmarried population of both sexes leads inevitably 
to high rates of illegitimacy. Where the proportion is large 
among the members of one sex only, the correlation is not 
definite. That the rates are influenced thereby is quite prob- 
able. Borosini thinks that the presence of many unmarried 
women leads men not to marry, and, therefore, increases il- 
legitimacy. Westphalia, with a surplus of men has a low 
rate of illegitimacy, while Bavaria and Carniola, with a sur- 
plus of women, have high rates, the latter province reaching a 
proportion of 38 per cent. The author, however, believes that 
other causes are responsible for such correlations as may be 
found between these conditions. 

The excessive rate in many cities is partly influenced by 
the presence of large number of single men and women. This 
is particularly true of cities visited by seamen, travelers and 
other unmarried men. The constant migration of young un- 
married persons from the rural districts to the cities results 
in an excessive disproportion of single men and women from 
twenty to twenty-five years of age in certain industrial and 
commercial centers. Abnormal conditions in this respect se- 
riously modify the rates of illegitimacy in such cities and 
must be considered in comparing them with the rates prevail- 



7(y University of Missouri Studies 

ing elsewhere. Where men preponderate and the number of 
women is small, naturally the rates of illegitimacy should be 
low, but v/here women are in the majority many must remain 
unmarried, with a consequent encouragement to illegitimacy. 

The Putative Fathers 

The fathers of illegitimate children have received but lit- 
tle attention from the statistician. Only too often facts about 
fathers are not recorded and the few figures attainable are not 
representative of them as a class. 

The following statistics giving the ages of groups of men 
and women in Boston and Philadelphia throw some light on 
the age differences that exist : 

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF PARENTS'^ 

LOCALITY Number cases Percentage 

Under 21 21-24 25-29 30 and over 

Philadelphia 

Men 240 

Women 271 

Boston 

Men 119 

Women 317 



The figures for Philadelphia indicate that nearly one- 
half of the women but less than one-fifth of the men were 
under 21. The median age for the men is between 24 and 
2o or about three years more than that of the women. Of 
those above 30 the men outnumber the women three to one. 
The differences recorded for Boston are less striking. Both 
men and women average a higher age than that prevailing 
among the Philadelphia groups. The modal age in both in- 

^See Studies of Boston Conference on Illegitimacy, and Report 
of Philadelphia Municipal Court, 1915. 



19.1 


35.4 


23.0 


22.5 


49.0 


29.1 


14.9 


7.0 


12.6 


43.7 


27.7 


16.0 


33.4 


43.8 


14.8 


8.0 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 77 

stances falls into the age group 21-24 years. Beyond 25 the 
men are twice as numerous as the women. The case of one 
man was recorded who had reached the ripe old age of 74. 
On the whole the age differences are very similar to those 
prevailing at the present time among married couples, but 
the absolute age distribution of the men is not necessarily typ- 
ical of the entire group because the cases considered in the 
foregoing table are few in number and drawn from special 
sources. 

The Cincinnati study obtained similar results. It was 
discovered that 20.8% of 258 men whose ages had been as- 
certained were under 21. Almost exactly one-half were from 
21 to 25 inclusive. Over 70% were under 26 years. How- 
ever, 11% had passed their thirty-sixth birthday, a proportion 
very much higher than that prevailing among the women. 

The civil condition of the father differs from that of the 
mother, a fact which interferes considerably with the satis- 
factory handling of a case. Very few of the mothers are 
married or, if they are, live with their husbands. A few are 
widowed or divorced. The fathers, on the other hand, in- 
clude a large percentage of married men, probably from 10 to 
about 25 per cent. A goodly proportion of the older men 
fall into this class. Naturally they are guilty of adultery as 
well as being the fathers of illegitimate children, and, there- 
fore, the problem which they present is more difficult and 
complicated than that of the simple-minded unmarried 
woman. 

The mentality of the men is of a distinctly higher grade 
than that of the women. It is not probable that very many 
of the men are feeble-minded, otherwise they would hardly 
be able to victimize young women. Again, the subnormal 
male is more likely to use violence and eventually come to 
grief. Furthermore, he is avoided by normally minded girls 
and only the weak-minded are in danger of becoming his vic- 
tim. But few of the men are illiterate and many of them are 
well-educated. Some, in fact, are preparing themselves for 



78 University of Missouri Studies 

a professional career. Illegitimacy often results from carry- 
ing out a vicious code of morals according to v^hich a given 
group of men feel bound to protect the young women of their 
own social stratum, but consider those of a low^er stratum as 
legitimate objects of prey. As a consequence, 'many of the 
latter group are ruined, but the men manage to find means of 
escape or at least to evade their just moral and financial ob- 
ligations. The condition is w^ell illustrated by the fact that 
so many students, professional men and artisans are included 
among the reputed fathers. 

So far, however, only' a few simple facts have been gath- 
ered. In no state do the birth certificates give complete in- 
formation about fathers. Accordingly, we must rely on the 
fragmentary evidence that can be ascertained. In St. Louis 
during the years 1910, 1911 and 1912, some information re- 
specting the fathers was recorded, and the occupational dis- 
tribution of 343 white fathers was obtained. No less than 58, 
or one-sixth of the total, were classified as farmers, but this 
high proportion was due to the large migration of expectant 
mothers from the country districts. Nearly as many were 
registered as salesmen, and there was a considerable sprink- 
ling of miners, bartenders, waiters, bakers, chauffeurs, butch- 
ers and barbers, and a few physicians as well. In fact com- 
paratively skilled trades and well remunerated occupations 
furnished a considerable percentage of the total. On the oth- 
er hand, nearly one-third of the entire number were classed 
as laborers, and probably the great majority of these were un- 
skilled. 

Similar information concerning 143 putative fathers in 
Boston discloses a great variety of occupations, many of them 
of a decidedly responsible character. Here students con- 
tributed entirely too large a proportion of the cases. A 
careful investigation of the occupations of 256 men in- 
volved in bastardy charges in Philadelphia gave the fol- 
lowing results : Factory workers 44, skilled laborers 38, un- 
skilled 29, chauffeurs and teamsters 24; then followed small 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 79 

tradesmen, the transportation service, building trades and 
clerical occupations with about a dozen each. The remain- 
der were scattered among many occupations, most of them 
of comparatively high grade. In fact the majority of these 
men were employed in economically desirable occupations. 

The figures relating to the occupational status of the re- 
puted fathers in Cincinnati indicated that common laborers 
formed the largest number of any single group. These were 
followed in order by artisans, factory workers, railroad men, 
clerks, farmers and traveling salesmen and form a series 
somewhat similar to those obtained from the other cities. 

The figures for each of these four cities are based on 
considerably less than one-half of the cases of illegal pater- 
nity and it cannot be assumed that the unknown cases follow 
an occupational distribution similar to that of the known. 

These meager facts, although insufficient for statistical 
comparison, point clearly to a relatively superior attainment 
in industry. The burden of illegal paternity rests lightly on 
the offending men and a large number of representatives of 
so-called better classes become involved. Only too often 
women are victimized because of a false allurement and a 
promise, the fulfillment of which never was intended. Never- 
theless, little is definitely known about the exact social, civil 
and economic conditions of the men, nor will there be until 
paternity is regularly determined. Then their social history 
will be disclosed and light be shed on the nature of the prob- 
lem which the men present. 



CHAPTER III 

COMMERCIAL AGENCIES FOR THE CARE OF 

MOTHERS 

Before undertaking to discuss the commercial maternity 
homes that exist so widely throughout the United States we 
need to call attention to a practice that frequently makes 
the use of such homes unnecessary. Sometimes, however, 
the maternity home itself is g'uilty of carrying on the prac- 
tice. The evil referred to is abortion. 

Abortion 

The woman who faces the condition of unlawful mother- 
hood is usually most unhappy. At first she hopes that a mis- 
carriage may occur, but usually she is not willing to bring 
this about directly. Often her moral impulses revolt at the 
thought and sometimes she fears the possible physical conse- 
quences, such as fatal disease, permanent injury, or loss of 
fertility. Later on a large proportion of women begin to 
think about the child, its probable condition, appearance, re- 
semblances, etc., and they hope that they will never see it. 
At any rate they hope to dispose of it and to forget all about 
it. 

The evil of abortion is not confined to unmarried moth- 
ers. It is well known that many married women employ this 
crude and criminal method to limit their living off-spring. 
In fact, the majority of abortions occur among this class. 
It is also known that some physicians cater to this practice 
and perform abortions. Occasionally, such physicians are 
discovered and sent to prison ; more often, however they 
grow opulent from the rich fees secured for their criminal 
practices. The Wisconsin Vice Committee made a study of 
abortion in connection with its investigation of illegitimacy 

(80) 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 81 

and among its conclusions are the following statements :^^ 
''There is a large number of physicians and midwives who 
not only perform operations for abortion, but even encourage 
the practice. In one small city the investigators readily found 
two doctors who were willing to take cases for abortion. 
In another city six doctors were found. Many instances were 
cited in which the evidence showed that unmarried girls are 
being advised of this way out of the difficulty and were con- 
sequently more ready to take a chance than they would other- 
wise be. The ordinary charge for producing abortion is 
from $50 to $100." 

Abortionists are found among both male and female phy- 
sicians. They usually operate in a clandestine manner, while 
the hapless girls promise secrecy and maintain their promise. 
If the girls are in the early stages of pregnancy they are 
probably advised to use some prescribed drug, but later on 
an operation may be deemed necessary. Physicians frequent- 
ly make hospital or sanitarium arrangements for the pa- 
tients, and it is expected that in ten days or two weeks the 
girls will again be well. Prices vary somewhat according to 
the length of time required. Many physicians arrange with 
others in different cities so that if necessary girls may be 
sent to the adjacent cities either for treatment or convales- 
cence. Many unmarried girls, especially those living in larger 
cities and who have become sophisticated by considerable 
contact with many phases of human life turn to the abortion- 
ist for relief in time of trouble but the country girl whose 
standards of morals are usually higher than those of the city 
girl hesitates to do so, nor is she so ready to undergo the 
risk involved. Furthermore, the well-to-do and mentally 
alert, but morally oblique girls frequently practice abortion. In 
fact, so common is this practice that only a small proportion 
of this class of girls become mothers. As a result the evil 



'Report of Wisconsin Vice Committee — pp. 137-147. 



82 University of Missouri Studies 

of illegitimacy is largely confined to the ignorant and the 
poor. 

In spite of stringent laws providing for the punishment 
of offenders many abortionists operate v^ith little fear of ex- 
posure. Greater vigilance among both physicians and the 
laity is necessary to detect these criminals and impose on 
them their w^ell-deserved punishment. Abortion is not only 
a crime in v^hich physician and patient are co-partners, but 
it leads to continued immorality and without doubt to prosti- 
tution as well. In other words, while it may relieve the in- 
dividual for the time being, it is most demoralizing to so- 
ciety and it is not a preventive measure but simply a means 
of apparently reducing the objective effect of immorality. It, 
therefore, increases the evil it is designed to correct. And if 
it could be condoned from the standpoint of the unhappy 
woman relieved of the care of an unwanted baby, it cannot 
be pardoned from the standpoint of society, which can under 
no conditions tolerate that disregard for human life which is 
involved and which if not rudely prevented threatens to un- 
dermine those fine feelings of human sympathy so necessary 
for our civilization. 

Maternity Homes 

In many states there may be found a flourishing institu- 
tion known as a maternity home. This is operated on a com- 
mercial basis usually by physicians, nurses or midwives, and 
the conduct of the institution is determined by financial mo- 
tives. Maternity homes of this character usually secure their 
patronage through the medium of advertisement. Accord- 
ingly, we can find in many newspapers in various parts of the 
United States, advertisements such as these : 

Confinement Home: ladies received before and during 
confinement; adoption if desired; part pay in work; physi- 
cian and midwife in attendance. Strictly confidential. Call 
or write, X Street. 

Mrs. X, licensed midwife, receives ladies before and dur- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 83 

ing confinement; best of care; strictly confidential; pa- 
tients met at station. Resident physician. Call or write, X 
Street. 

Ladies ! We treat all female troubles ; consultation free ; 
resident physician ; ladies received before and during con- 
finement. Mrs. , X Street. 

The above sample advertisements clearly carry on their 
face the nature and character of the business handled. The 
significant points are the following: 

Physicians, midwives and others conduct the institutions. 

There is an appeal to girls outside the city. 

The work is carried on clandestinely. 

The child may be disposed of by the mother. 

Abortion is in some cases hinted at. 

Girls may give part pay in service. 

The appeal is directed especially to unmarried mothers, 
who are the principal persons disposed to ask for or accept 
conditions of the type mentioned. Nevertheless, since many 
married women desire to procure abortion, this group is fre- 
quently represented at some of these institutions. 

Another form of advertisement consists of circulars or 
letters sent to physicians advising them where to direct girls 
that are approaching unlawful motherhood. In this way, 
friendly, or at least business, relations are frequently estab- 
lished between physicians and midwives on one hand, and 
maternity homes on the other. 

Girls from the country and other cities accordingly drift 
to the maternity homes in the larger cities. Likewise, girls 
from within the city are directed to them by friends, by the 
police or even by social agencies. The private commercial 
maternity home cannot ordinarily accept "charity" cases, but 
it will take the girl if she can pay most of the charges, which, 
however, are not uniform, or if she can be of service in the 
house. Occasional maternity homes cater to the comparative- 
ly well-to-do ; their rates are correspondingly high, and lit- 
tle is known of the details of their work. The majority of 



84 University of Missouri Studies 

homes aim to meet the needs of those who are not compelled 
to rely on charity. Ability to pay is the chief condition of 
entrance. Previous immorality or disease are not reasons 
for excluding them. 

Ov^ing to the desire to keep their conditions unknov^n 
to friends at home and to the inability to continue work as 
long as in the case of the married woman, many pregnant 
girls enter the maternity homes from two to four months be- 
fore confinement. Maternity homes, by providing accommo- 
dations of apparently various degrees of comfort and excel- 
lence, are able to graduate their charges so as to make them 
conform to the size of a woman's purse. Accordingly, a lump 
sum may be charged for the service rendered and all the in- 
cidentals be included, or there may be a separate charge for 
each, for board, delivery fee and adoption charge. Board 
varies considerably and thus gives opportunity for various 
rates to patrons. Charges range from $5 to $20 per week. 
The fee for delivery is probably $25, sometimes a little more, 
and adoption charges range from $5 to $50. The total cost 
of a month's stay in a maternity home, therefore, varies from 
about $50 to $200. If the girl finds it necessary to stay long- 
er, the cost is, of course, heavier, but the only items that in- 
crease are board and medical attendance. Nevertheless, a 
charge of $150 to $200 easily accumulates. These possibili- 
ties appall many girls who accordingly find themselves com- 
pelled to patronize some philanthropic institution or agency. 
The following table gives the cost to the mother in the var- 
ious commercial institutions in a certain city : 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 85 

COST OF MATERNITY HOMES 

Cost for 4 
Institution Board Delivery Uniform Adoption weeks in- 

per week fee prices Adoption Charge eluding 

adoption 



1 


$ 6 $25 


No 




Yes 


$15 


$ 64 


3 


10 25 


No 




Yes 


5-25 


90 


3 


6 25 


Yes 




No 


None 


49 


4 


18 35-50 


No 




Yes 


35-50 


145-175 


5 


* * 


No 




Yes 


* 


125-150 


*Cost 


included in lump sum 


for 


four 


• weeks' 


care. 





These institutions give evidence of a considerable variety 
in the amount charged for the service rendered. The greatest 
differences occur in the cost of board and the adoption fee. 
Without doubt the woman falling into the hands of one of 
these homes is practically helpless and must accede as far as 
possible to the wishes of the person in charge. In spite of these 
charges, the adoption fee demanded by foundling asylums is 
often equally high if not higher. The benevolent institution, 
however, has a two-fold motive in making this charge. First, 
it expects to find a good home for the baby, and second, it 
usually wishes to discourage the mother from relinquishing 
it. The adoption fee charged by many maternity homes is 
frequently almost clear gain as practically no effort is made 
to find decent homes for the babies. 

Commercial agencies are not particularly concerned with 
the moral rehabilitation of the mothers and they have usually 
intimated to the applicants that they will, if it is desired, dis- 
pose of the child. In fact, in many cases they urge the wom- 
an to give up the child at once, so that the way may be open- 
ed for the erring ones to return to their friends and homes 
without sufifering disgrace and ostracism. They do not go 
so far as to investigate the social effects of such action, oth- 
erwise advice of a different nature might be given. 

In case maternity homes find it convenient to take the 



S6 University of Missouri Studies 

child away from its mother it becomes necessary to find a 
private home for the child. Many institutions have lists of 
families w^ho are w^illing to adopt or at least take children, 
and if a child is to be placed they notify one or more of these 
families and dispose of the child. Frequently, however, the 
lists are small or unsatisfactory and the newspaper advertise- 
ment is again used. Accordingly, we find in the newspapers 
under an appropriate heading, usually the caption 'Terson- 
al," or "Medical," a significant line such as this : "For adop- 
tion — fine baby boy, Mr. C" or "Adoption ; a pretty baby 
girl may be had for the calling." 

Many maternity homes habitually endeavor to separate 
the baby from the mother. Frequently, maternal feeding is 
never allowed and the child is bottle-fed from the beginning. 
Every precaution is exercised to prevent the mother from be- 
coming attached to the child. Generally, the mother begins 
without natural affection for her baby because of the sorrow 
and trouble accompanying her motherhood and if the moth- 
er never sees her child there is little opportunity for the ripen- 
ing of any sentiment of love or of the development of any 
attachment for it. In addition there may be considerable 
financial gain in acting as agent in placing the baby in some 
foster home. 

Uusually the charge for handling babies is as high as 
the traffic will bear. Consequently, charges are not uniform 
and depend on the demand for babies, the type and vitality 
of the children, the resources of mothers and other consider- 
ations. Whenever possible, two fees are collected ; one from 
the mother for the service of removing and disposing of her 
baby; the other from the person or family taking or adopt- 
ing the child. In some cases the cost to the mother is included 
in the charge for care and confinement. In others it is an en- 
tirely independent propostion and the charge or fee is fixed 
after more definite knowledge, concerning the mother and the 
appearance and saleability of the child has been gained. Un- 
desirable babies, therefore, must in some cases, be given away, 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 87 

and occasionally paid for. Ordinarily, however, the mother 
must pay from merely nominal sums to $50 for the service. 
The person receiving the child pays for the notaries' fees, 
cost of advertising, temporary care of the child, profit on 
transaction, etc., and the amount charged will vary as in the 
case of the cost to the mothers. 

When babies are farmed out to their care-takers addi- 
tional precautions often become necessary to prevent the 
mothers from recovering their babies and making trouble 
for both the maternity home and the foster parent. One of 
these consists in neglecting to keep track of the whereabouts 
of the children. In fact, such carelessness exists that babies 
are frequently given to applicants without the institution 
management's knowing anything about the character of the 
foster homes or even their address. An investigator in St. 
Louis inquiring at one of these homes for a baby for a friend 
was told and even urged to take the baby away with her, 
although the institution knew nothing about the social and 
moral status of either the investigator or her ''friend." In 
Chicago in reply to the question, "What shall we bring to 
get the baby?" implying evidence of one's eligibility for the 
care of an adopted baby, the simple reply was, "Oh, bring a 
shawl." 

The inquiring mother, therefore, will learn that no one 
knows where her baby is and that it would be impossible to 
trace it. Again, it frequently happens that the maternity 
homes intimate to the mother that her baby has died and thus 
cause her to cease wondering and worrying about its comfort 
and condition. 

These haphazard methods of trafficking in baby lives 
are aggravated by the signal failure to require the legal adop- 
tion of the babies. The maternity homes desire the least pub- 
licity possible and as little connection with our legal machin- 
ery as necessary. Therefore, they do not usually file adop- 
tion papers, and if anything is done at all, it must be on de- 
mand of the foster parent. Frequently, he is too ignorant to 



88 University of Missouri Studies 

understand the importance of this act, or he connives in the 
failure to make out a deed of adoption, thus relieving himself 
of full responsibility for the child later on, should the accept- 
ance of such responsibility prove burdensome or undesirable. 
That a heavy mortality occurs among these babies is practi- 
cally inevitable. The incompetent homes so commonly used 
for the placement of the babies are so neglected that dire 
consequences are certain, although adequate investigations 
along this line have not been made. Some of the abuses are 
due to the greed of the maternity home. For example, a 
mother may pay the institution the required adoption charge, 
thinking that the child v^ill be properly cared for and placed 
out in an appropriate home. Instead of this plan being adop- 
ted the institution sells the baby for whatever price it may 
bring ($10, $15, $25, etc.). Often the baby cannot be disposed 
of easily and so it remains in the home, languishing and neg- 
lected or it is finally placed in charge of a "baby farm," where 
it will probably die in a few months because of the ignorance, 
filth and neglect of the caretakers. The following facts de- 
scribing conditions formerly obtaining in a state of the Middle 
West illustrate this problem.^^ Mrs. conducted a ma- 
ternity hospital and boarding home for infants. She received 
$25.00 to find a home for a baby several hours old. She tried 
to double this sum by selling the child but failed. She kept 
the child for three months when it died because of improper 
feeding. Four other infants in her care died within a period 
of eight months. Another woman, who for years has been 
receiving and finding homes for illegitimate infants, carried 
on this work without any consideration for the welfare of the 
child. An infant was placed by her in a home from which 
children had been received by the Board of Children's Guard- 
ians because the people were regarded as unfit to care for 
them. 



^^Twentieth Annual Report of the Board of State Charities of 
Indiana, p. 194. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 89 

The evils that result from conditions such as these in 
states that exercise no adequate form of public control over 
commercial institutions are most alarming as has been shown 
by several investigations conducted to ascertain facts. Un- 
fortunately, the full extent of the problem cannot be un- 
earthed. In all large cities where there are no proper regu- 
lations a considerable number of commercial maternity homes 
may be found quietly carrying on their business. How many 
babies pass annually through these homes? How many die 
in infancy? What finally becomes of the mothers? These 
are questions that cannot be readily answered. In St. Louis 
in one month twenty-two babies were advertised by maternity 
homes for adoption. A rate such as this if continued reveals 
an appalling situation. Of course these babies are not all il- 
legitimate and consequently the problem here is not exclu- 
sively one relating to illegitimate children, but there can be 
no doubt that the majority belong to this group. Again, the 
vital statistics do not give the complete facts in regard to 
the number of babies born in such homes. Any estimate of 
the number of infants handled would, therefore, have but 
little value. 

In Chicago according to the Juvenile Protective Asso- 
ciation more than 1000 infants are annually lost sight of. It 
is known that they are born but there is no traceable record 
of their deaths although they have disappeared, for they are 
never heard of again. In many cases the birth records are not 
made out or are incomplete or are not sent to the bureau of 
vital statistics for many weeks. Again, a large number of 
illegitimate children are classed as legitimate and the commu- 
nity has no means of knowing the actual gravity of the prob- 
lem. 

In Indiana the Board of State Charities, after it was em- 
powered to license and control maternity homes, received 
many applications for the conducting of such institutions. 
After investigating the subject the Board discovered that the 
evil was a serious one and it therefore refused licenses in 



90 University of Missouri Studies 

many cases, reduced the number of maternity homes and 
raised the standards of the remainder. 

In conclusion it appears that the uncontrolled commer- 
cial maternity homes are a distinct social menace. The prob- 
lem of illegitimacy cannot be solved by their methods. The 
guarantee of "secrecy" to applicants is a dangerous offer 
and merely aggravates the problem. The inducement to 
mothers to dispose of their children is dangerous to both 
mother and child. The former loses the one transforming 
force that can bring her back to a wholesome, joyous, normal 
life — a suckling babe. The latter is buffeted from pillar to 
post and eventually is swept into eternity. Such agencies 
make no attempt to discover the father of an illegitimate 
child nor to require him to share in the burden of child care. 
This task has no financial value for them. No special atten- 
tion is paid to the development of character in the woman. 
Why should there be? The homes are paid to handle the 
case and there is no need of meddling with the private con- 
cern of individuals ! Trades and occupations are not taught, 
and women may be forced to leave the institution utterly 
helpless to maintain themselves, especially if their former 
homes are closed to them as is frequently the case. Usually, 
records of the children are not kept and the tracing of the 
history of the children is made impossible. Likewise the 
facts collected about the women are so few that nothing can 
be accomplished with them. In short, illegitimacy is a prob- 
lem of tremendous social significance and cannot be adequate- 
ly handled except by persons animated with lofty social ideals 
and trained to work out each individual problem in reference 
to its bearing on the general welfare of society. Women can- 
not be made moral on a profit basis. Illegitimacy will not 
decline if commercial agencies are allowed to plan methods 
of care and control. The question must be approached from 
the standpoint of public welfare. Then and not until then 
can we expect to evolve a workable plan for the care of un- 



CfiiLDREX Born Out of A\'edlock 91 

married mothers and illegitimate children and for the pre- 
vention of the evil directly. 



CHAPTER IV 
PHILANTHROPIC AND PUBLIC AGENCIES 

Aim of Philanthropic Effort 

As our social work is now organized both public and pri- 
vate agencies come in contact with the unmarried mother 
and her child. In handling this problem the agencies should 
be guided by the thought that the highest social good rather 
than individual welfare must result from their efforts. There 
was a time when the mother received the most consideration. 
When she was allowed to bring her baby to the cradle tow- 
er, deposit it without being seen, ring a bell to inform the 
attendants of her act, and then depart from the institution 
with the consciousness that the baby would be cared for, 
(how she did not know, for most of the babies died), when 
she was permitted to do all these things, it was supposed that 
she could return with impunity to her people and her commu- 
nity and begin life anew. The evils that followed this meth- 
od of operation, however, were most serious and other plans 
became necessary. Later o^ the claims of the child received 
first attention. This occurred gradually as the fact of the 
innocence of the babies began to dawn upon the public. Ac- 
cordingly the emphasis was shifted from mother to child 
and the chief object of consideration in a bastardy case came 
to be the child.' Much of our legislation past and present is 
based on the theor}/ that the child is the pivot around which 
circle the other interested parties ; and there is no doubt, 
that the mother can be best reclaimed by using the child as 
means of reformation and that the i chief way Iq reach the 
father is through the child. While father ^nd mother are 
individuals inclined to independence, the baby is the founda-- 
tion of a family and holds parents togetner. Society has im- 
posed certain disabilities on illegitimate children and these 

(92) 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 93 

handicaps may have had a certain amount of justification in 
r the past. Recently, much sentiment has been developing in 

' favor of removing all handicaps and granting to such children 

total immunity from the sins of their parents. The propa- 
ganda is based on the fact of the innocence of the children and 
the apparent injustice of a vicarious sacrifice on their part. 
Again, while our sympathy is with the child and we hope 
that he may not suffer unnecessarily, still the mere inno- 
cence of a party does not always obviate freedom from suf- 
fering. The attitude which must finally prevail is one which 
harmonizes best with the advancement of our social and moral 
welfare. It is to be hoped that innocence will not have to suf- 
fer in order to accomplish the highest good, but if it does, 
then this sacrifice must be borne and the illegitimate child 
suffer in order that future generations will become more 
moral and illegitimacy be wiped out. This consummation 
would represent only one of the many vicarious sacrifices 
now undergone to accelerate our social progress. ' All pro- 
gress is purchased at the cost of some one. ^ It is not clear, 
however, that any disabilities are necessary to check illegiti- 
macy and we may as well greet the coming of the day when 
the unjust discriminations of the past will be outlawed and 
forgotten. 

In recent years the attitude of reformers has been de- 
flected somewhat and attention focused on the father. "After 
all, he is at least a co-ordinate, if not the principal or domi- 
nant, factor in the problem. Regardless ef all solicitation or 
©fforts by women to entice men, the fact remaina that all co- 
operation by men in immorality is entirely voluntary and 
cannot be the result of physical force, or even of persuasion 
that does not listen willingly to the voice of the tempter. The 
essential- aggressiveness of masculinity and the physical lead- 
ership of man in^ immorality at once dispel to all thinking 
people the notion tl^at male responsibility is not equal to 
that of the female. As the mist of prejudice is gradually 
dispelled the responsibility of men for sexual offenses will 



94 University of Missouri Studies 

be enforced, and in the handling of illegitimacy cases men 
will receive attention commensurate w^ith the share of the 
burden that they should be obliged to bear. From the stand- 
point of society as a whole, it seems probable that male re- 
sponsibility will be enforced with increasing determination, 
since such a line of attack must seriously affect the reduction 
of immorality. 

In summarizing the discussion of a principle of approach, 
we must emphasize the fact that in every case of illegitimacy 
three persons are involved, — father, mother and child — but 
the policy pursued must subordinate each of these to general 
considerations of social welfare. Society is composed of men, 
women and children, but it is also bigger than any man, 
woman or child and we must do what is best in the long run 
for society. 

From the philanthropic standpoint the care of mothers 
and children takes one or more of the following forms : hos- 
pital care of mother before and during confinement; the 
separation of mother and baby; the development of a plan 
to keep mother and child together and make them self-sup- 
porting ; marriage of mother to putative father ; institution- 
al care of subnormal women ; support of child by its father. 

Municipal Hospitals 

According to the statistics the great majority of expect- 
ant mothers patronize some institution, either commercial or 
philanthropic. A group of benevolent institutions have arisen 
to meet the need of hospital care. Usually the municipal 
hospital in every large city has a maternity ward which re- 
ceives poor mothers both married and unmarried, cares for 
them during the lying-in or confinement period, and for a 
short time afterward, but not generally more than two or 
three weeks. Although such hospitals are erected to care 
for the indigent residents of a city, in actual practice a con- 
siderable number of the unmarried mothers are migrants who 
have entered the city shortly before their application to the 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 95 

hospital. The lack of a system for returning girls to their 
home communities and the frequent absence of facilities for 
their care in such communities are important causes of this 
condition. Nevertheless, very little attention has been paid 
by the municipal officials to the question of responsibility 
for the expenses of confinement and of medical care. Only 
too often the one service performed by the hospital is care 
during confinement, so that as soon as she is able to leave the 
young woman is required to try her fortune in a friendless and 
unfriendly world. In some instances, however, efforts to deal 
constructively with the mothers have been made. These 
efforts consist in bringing about a reconciliation and marriage 
of the parents in a small number of cases ; in the return of 
mothers to their homes when this is possible and congenial 
to the women; in finding suitable employment for them so 
that they may keep and support their babies ; and in arrang- 
ing for separate care of babies when the unwisdom of keep- 
ing mother and child together becomes apparent. A serious 
difficulty confronting a municipal department is the lack of 
emergency aid funds to equip women for the acceptance of 
suitable positions ; furthermore, the task of follow-up work 
is so tremendous that little attention is paid to any woman 
after she has been placed for the first time. The woman with 
a baby has to find employment where she can minister to 
the needs of the baby; consequently, domestic service forms 
the principal variety of work available. The institution has 
no facilities for training women for useful employment, there- 
fore, the ignorant and untrained girl can not be sent into 
the best positions, but must accept those of inferior character 
and often in an unsatisfactory environment where new temp- 
tations beset her and contribute to a second lapse from vir- 
tue. Formerly, municipalities placed the unmarried mother 
in the almshouse and in many rural districts this is still the 
method of public institutional care. So demoralizing is this 
policy that it is rapidly being abandoned in favor of hospital 
care, and, when necessary, private institutions or societies 



96 University of Missouri Studies 

are invoked to carry out the program for the unfortunate 
women. 

Rescue Homes 

The private philanthropic institutions are of two varieties , 
rescue homes and maternity homes. Many rescue homes 
are operated by religious groups, some of a rather denomina- 
tional character that rely unduly on so-called *'faith" for 
funds to operate the institutions. These homes usually take 
girls who are or have been immoral, but do not accept ma- 
ternity cases. They are not hospitals and if hospital care is 
needed they will send the girl to an appropriate institution. 
Should the baby die or be relinquished by the mother, they 
will gladly continue the work of reform. Although the prin- 
cipal function of a rescue home is to deal with the "fallen 
women," some of these homes are also engaged in working 
with the unmarried mother. For example, the Florence Crit- 
tenton homes engage in preventive work and among their 
rescue work include "caring for girls facing unmarried moth- 
erhood." Usually these homes are not equipped with hospi- 
tal facilities but unmarried mothers and their babies are re- 
ceived shortly after the birth of the babies. They endeavor to 
limit themselves largely to girls who have taken but a single 
misstep and the hardened prostitute is, therefore, seldom re- 
ceived, while the young girl, ignorant or wayward, forms the 
chief object of concern. The Chicago home places the aver- 
age age of the girls cared for at 16. The various homes in 
the United States are said to care for 5000 girls per year. 

The Crittenton homes resemble each other in the general 
nature of their work and in their rules and discipline. The 
Home in Chicago may be taken as an example. According to 
the rules, every girl must, unless because of exceptional con- 
ditions, remain in the institution six months or longer. Girls 
may return when out of work or in need of assistance, but 
none will be again accepted who have repeated their offense. 
The work in the Home is done by the girls, and discipline of 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 97 

a parental character is invoked. The young mothers are ex- 
pected to keep their babies and all of the girls are encouraged 
and to some extent trained to become self-supporting. A re- 
ligious atmosphere pervades the Home, but it is not oppres- 
sive and develops in a large proportion of the girls a character 
capable of withstanding temptation. Employment is found 
for the girls, or they are sent home or to friends. 

The first Crittenton home was founded in 1884-5 and at 
present there are more than 70 of these institutions in the 
United States. 

Another variety of rescue home is that conducted by 
the Salvation Army. There are twenty-two of these homes 
in the United States, all of them under the supervision of the 
national organization but supported locally. 

The heads of these institutions frequently advertise in 
the newspapers, offering care, a home, and friends to girls 
who are in trouble. Accordingly, a goodly proportion of the 
girls patronizing these homes come from outside the city, 
that is from the country districts or the small towns. In 
many respects the method employed is similar to that of the 
Crittenton homes. Usually, however, there is no definitely 
required length of stay. The institution appeals to the girls 
from the standpoint of religion, which is very essential in 
most of the cases ; it uses them for the performance of the 
work in the homes, tries to train the inmates for domestic 
service, finds employment for as many as possible, reconciles 
girls to their relatives and former friends if possible, and en- 
gages in a mild form of follow-up work. While records are 
kept they do not usually, if ever, meet the demands of the 
experienced social worker, who insists on carrying out a pro- 
gram of rehabilitation until assured of permanent success. 
Speaking of the work of the Salvation Army Rescue Homes 
in England the Minority Report of the Royal Commission on 
the Poor Laws says :^^ *'We have been much impressed by 

''See pp. 83-94. 



98 University of Missouri Studies 

what w€ have learned from various sources of the invigorating 
and restorative effect of the treatment of a large number 
of girl mothers annually dealt with in these Homes, and by 
the practical wisdom and administrative skill displayed in 
all the details of their management. We think that the 
methods adopted in these Homes merit careful study by those 
who may be responsible for dealing with the problem at the 
expense of public funds." Surely, a splendid tribute to the 
work of these homes in England ! Were their superintend- 
ents better educated and better trained, but filled with the 
same fervor for humanity and desire to do good the results 
would be even better than those actually accomplished. 

Most of these institutions usually suffer from the handi- 
cap of a lack of funds ; therefore, they fail to accomplish 
much that the persons in charge desire. Furthermore, they 
frequently lack adequate facilities for the industrial training 
of the girls. 

English "rescue homes," of which there are about 300, 
work chiefly with girl mothers having a first illegitimate 
child, and keep them from three months to one year. Foster 
mothers are frequently found and the real mother as soon 
as possible required to contribute toward the child's support. 
Meanwhile, an interest in, and love for, the baby is developed. 

Maternity Hospitals 

The large cities are all provided with a number of pri- 
vate charitable maternity hospitals and homes. The Catholic 
church usually has a foundling asylum which also admits un- 
married mothers. Frequently, there are Protestant hospitals 
of a similar variety, and, of course, non-sectarian institutions 
as well. These hospitals and homes, in addition to the public 
institution or institutions, provide confinement facilities for 
a large proportion of all the unmarried mothers in a commu- 
nity. The figures for St. Louis show, for example, that in a 
typical year 59.8 per cent of the mothers passed through these 
private and municipal hospitals. As is shown elsewhere, the 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 99 

majority of women have patronized institutions. If the num- 
ber admitted to commercial maternity homes is deducted, it 
is probable that more than one-half of all the known cases 
will still have come under the care and influence of public 
and philanthropic institutions. In a sense, all of these are 
social agencies, and, while many of them may not and do 
not deal constructively with the unmarried mother, there are 
no inherent reasons why they may not eventually do so. 
Antiquated methods, lack of social perspective and conserva- 
tism of religion, physicians and many social workers, are the 
causes of failure to attempt the needed rehabilitation of the 
women cared for. The time will come when every hospital 
engaging in philanthropic work must establish a live and 
active social service department which will deal adequately 
with the problem of the individuals handled. 

In actual practice the benevolent institutions diflfer so 
widely from each other in character, and method of work that 
no general statements applicable to all can be made. Some 
of them refuse to admit a woman about to give birth to a 
second illegitimate child, while others do not discriminate. 
Nevertheless, the women are usually alert on this point and 
deny any previous offense, and the records are ordinarily 
not sufficiently complete to detect the imposture. 

Expenses in these institutions are far from uniform, 
many girls may work for the treatment they receive, — an op- 
portunity frequently sought, especially by the girl forced to 
seek admission to an institution several months before con- 
finement. Pay patients are charged from five to twenty dol- 
lars a week, depending on the class of room and the amount 
of attention necessary. Several weeks of stay may, there- 
fore, incur a considerable bill. In the majority of cases a de- 
livery fee is charged and this is frequently fixed at $25.00, but 
occasionally at a higher figure. How far maternity hospitals 
develop responsibility in unmarried mothers is problematical. 
Unless girls are encouraged, yes required when possible, to 
keep their babies and plan to support them little energy is 



100 University of Missouri Studies 

spent in developing responsibility. Unless a normally mind- 
ed woman is compelled to bear her share of the burden her 
character is weakened and she is in danger of ultimate ruin. 
As for the weakminded girl, her problem is inextricably bound 
up with the program for the care of the feeble-minded. Very 
young girls, however, are often so oblivious of the duties and 
sacredness of motherhood that to force them to try to sup- 
port and rear their babies is almost criminal. It will not re- 
sult in character development and probably means neglected 
infants. 

The problem of rehabilitation is an individual one, and 
each girl needs a separate diagnosis and appropriate treat- 
ment. It may be urged, however, that in the majority of 
cases, mother and child should be kept together. 

In view of these facts it is interesting to note that not 
only the commercial institutions, but many philanthropic 
ones as well, make provision for the adoption of children. 
Two of the four private benevolent institutions in St. Louis 
have fixed charges for adoption, the prices being $50 and $100 
respectively. In one year, the former adopted 30 per cent 
of the children born within its walls. 

Frequently these institutions get into communication 
with the parents or relatives of unfortunate girls and urge 
them to relent and become reconciled. It is usually difficult 
to persuade relatives that the best interests of all require the 
girl to keep her baby and to return either to her home or go 
out into the world resolved to support her child. So many 
people think that if the baby can be adopted or taken from 
its mother that the latter can return to her home community 
and be promptly restored to her former respectability. In act- 
ual practice, this is not true, but people are not easily con- 
vinced. Nevertheless, a large number of girls are returned 
to friends, usually to their old homes, to begin life anew and 
to receive help in caring for their babies. Unfortunately, 
ev3n the benevolent institutions have not developed adequate 
facilities for the training of the girls. Many young women 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 101 

are utterly unprepared for any occupation or at least for the 
occupations now available for them. The new conditions 
frequently require them to abandon their former pursuits and 
to start a new one which provides the girl with a good en- 
vironment and adequate oversight by some responsible per- 
son, and at the same time insures the possibility of keeping 
mother and child together. Almost the only training afforded 
is in domestic service. This field, however, cannot absorb 
all of the women in need of employment. Consequently, new 
fields must be discovered and training provided for the new 
occupations. In some cases a temporary arrangement is pos- 
sible whereby the mother can board her baby with some pri- 
vate family and follow an occupation for which she has been 
trained. 

A very important part of the work with these unmarried 
mothers is the supervision given them after they have left 
the institution. There should be full records of every case 
and the history of each should be kept up to date until the 
woman is discharged from care. At least a year of such 
supervision is necessary and during this time frequent re- 
ports should be received and occasional visits made. In no 
other way will the institutions or hospitals know that th« 
new environment and social conditions of the woman are 
congenial and uplifting. The work for unmarried mothers 
has almost no constructive value unless social service depart- 
ments are organized in every maternity hospital and a pro- 
gram of supervision such as that suggested above is institut- 
ed. Few hospitals have as yet established such departments 
and their work must consequently be considered as decidedly 
inferior. It means that little or no attempt is made to reach 
fathers, to press cases in court, to compel paternal support 
or aid, to develop responsibility in the community from which 
the woman comes, or to solve the serious problems of after- 
care. And the hospitals have a splendid opportunity, for 
they have under their care for a short time at least, more 



102 University of Missouri Studies 

than one-half of all the unmarried mothers whose cases are 
recorded in the large cities. 

In this connection may be mentioned the work for un- 
married mothers by the Massachusetts State Board of Char- 
ity. Massachusetts has a state infirmary to which are an- 
nually admitted about one hundred women pregnant for il- 
legitimate children, practically one-half of whom are repeating 
offenders. The state board through its Committee on Social 
Service supervises the after-care of the women and children 
discharged from the state infirmary and has been dealing en- 
ergetically with the cases coming under its control in various 
ways, such as returning women to relatives, or to friends^ 
finding positions, deporting alien women, arranging for the 
commitment of defectives to the proper institutions, initiating 
proceedings against putative fathers, and even effecting mar- 
riage. Owing to the low class of women received at the state 
institution the task of this committee is peculiarly difficult 
and the success attained spells the price of diligent endeavor. 
In 1913 the Board asked the local poor officials to notify it 
of pregnant girls before sending them to the state infirmary 
and as a result 82 applications for advice were received. Ar- 
rangements were made for the care of 64 girls apart from the 
state institutions, while the remaining 18 were admitted, they 
being unacceptable to private societies because of disease or 
of previous similar offenses. Since then the police, many hos- 
pitals and other authorities as well have often referred cases 
to the Board and out of these necessities the Committee on 
Social Service has developed a large field of service. After 
the nation-wide campaign against venereal diseases was be- 
gun many diseased girls were accepted at the state infirmary 
and plans developed for their care and treatment, always with 
the view of preventing further sex irregularity. 

Every free and easy method of escaping the natural con- 
sequences of unlawful motherhood has proven socially unde- 
sirable since it has increased immorality and illegitimacy. 
Many modern maternity hospitals have not grasped this fact ; 



Children Born Out of Wedlock lOS 

otherwise they would not enable mothers to dispose of or 
to sell their babies and allow them to return to the world 
apparently normal moral women. They inform the women 
that society will never know and need not. Accordingly^ 
babies are. taken away or adopted after the fashion of com- 
mercial maternity homes. No system by which woman will 
live a lie before the world can be socially justified. An oc- 
casional woman may gain, but women and the world will lose. 

On the whole the methods of maternity hospitals and 
homes, although the motives may be benevolent, are crude 
and antiquated. Emergency relief is indeed provided, but a 
complete constructive program which considers the obliga- 
tions of both father and mother, adequate protection of the 
child, and the promotion of the highest social welfare is not 
generally carried out, and consequently little preventive work 
is accomplished. Under these conditions a refusal to accept 
a woman pregnant for a second illegitimate child is a trav- 
esty on social service. 

One reason for this backwardness is the predominance 
of the medical standpoint which has heretofore considered 
the physical side principally. The social training of the phy- 
sician and the insistence of progressive methods by social 
workers should in the near future result in the establish- 
ment of a well-rounded program of effort. 

Child Caring Agencies 

Besides the hospitals there are a variety of social agencies 
that deal with the unmarried mother and her child. Chief 
among these are the so-called child caring agencies, such as 
children's aid, home-finding and humane societies, as well 
as agencies for the protection of children from cruelty. Ad- 
ditional agencies often involved are legal aid and charity or- 
ganization societies. These organizations frequently learn of 
cases after the women have left the hospital and have, with 
their babies, become objects of philanthropic care or guid- 
ance. They also come in touch with many of the mothers 



104 University of Missouri Studies 

wlio are confined in private homes, while occasionally they 
take charge of pregnant girls that wander into the cities and 
grope about for some place of refuge. It is probable that 
only a small proportion of all the cases of illegitimacy are 
dealt with by these charitable agencies and handled from the 
social viewpoint. The Boston Conference on Illegitimacy 
reports that in 1913 out of 858 illegitimate births in that city, 
the social agencies dealt with 359.^^ Several agencies, how- 
ever, did not report, but including an estimate of their work 
it is clear that more than one-half of the unmarried mothers 
fail to receive any attention from social agencies other than 
the hospitals and, therefore, are not schooled to a routine of 
discipline which will reconstruct their moral character and 
steel them against the temptations and adversities of an un- 
favorable environment. 

The information secured about the 359 cases handled in- 
dicates the general inadequacy of the work done. It was 
shown, for example, that in 173 of the cases the confidential 
exchange was not used, that in 216 the name of father, and 
in 147 of the mother, of the girls was not known.^° The mental 
conditions of the unmarried mothers were known in less than 
one-half of the cases, and previous sex history in less than 
one-fourth. Facts concerning the presence of venereal dis- 
eases w^ere procured for 81 of the total number, but knowl- 
edge of their educational attainment was almost entirely miss- 
ing. Some information was secured about the baby, the 
method of nursing and follow-up work, but here also it was 
far from complete. Even facts regarding the time that the 
girl was under supervision were missing for nearly one-half 
of the cases. 

If so little was learned and known about the girl and her 
baby, is it any wonder that the facts about the father of the 
child were so meager? In nearly one-third of the cases his 

'°»See Studies of the Boston Conference on Illegitimacy, p. 33. 
*^Ibid. pp. 34, 35. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 105 

name was not known. This, however, is a creditable show- 
ing. Information about his parents, wages, and physical and 
mental condition was largely lacking, but his conjugal condi- 
tion was known in approximately two-thirds of the cases. 
Every efifective case worker knows how important are these 
items of information and how necessary they are to a correct 
plan of dealing with and caring for baby and mother, and of 
gaining the co-operation, forced or voluntary, of the father. 
Nevertheless, the paucity of data concerning these cases 
makes enlightened treatment almost impossible, for it must 
be emphasized that each case should be treated separately 
and according to a program suggested by the diagnosis and 
history. Nor is it likely that case histories are more satis- 
factory in other cities than in Boston ; probably they are less 
so. 

Nevertheless, workers among the unmarried mothers are 
now exerting themselves to gain information ample for a 
program of constructive effort. The principle of investigation 
is identical with that which determines ordinary case work 
with individuals or families, but the program of rehabilita- 
tion is difficult because of the factors and prejudices involved. 
In some sections of the country the plan of boarding out the 
pregnant women has certain possibilities. According to this 
plan the hospital or physician refers the applicant to the plac- 
ing-out agency, which finds a private home for the woman 
until shortly before confinement, when she is sent to the hos- 
pital to remain only so long as her physical condition may 
require. As soon as possible the placing-out agency again 
assumes charge of the case and disposes of it according to 
the plan developed. This method of work enables the wom- 
en to avoid contact with each other and lessens the oppor- 
tunity for an exchange of experiences. Such contacts must 
be prevented if the finer instincts still latent in the woman 
are to remain. Frequently the mother with her child is re- 
turned to parents and relatives — a short cut solution of the 
problem that enables the agency to dismiss the case without 



106 University of Missouri Studies 

further worry. Usually, however, there is little proof that 
the case has been wisely disposed of. 

More often the plan of care consists in finding a suitable 
position for the mother and requiring her to support her baby 
either by caring for it directly or by paying for its care in 
case it is temporarily placed in the hands of some other per- 
sons. 

If they gain information sufficient to justify court action, 
private agencies frequently press suit against the putative 
father and compel him to contribute toward the support of 
the child. Usually, however, they are not prepared for so 
drastic a step or cannot persuade the mother to take action 
and as a consequence the plan of rehabilitation centers about 
the mother instead of including both parents. It is entirely 
fair to say that so far the general plan of our social agencies, 
whether public or private, has been to place the responsibility 
on the mother and to give but little concern to the father. 
The latter has not only been favored by the laws but courts 
have refused to require him to bear his share of the burden, 
and private agencies themselves have not insisted so strenu- 
ously, as they should, on the duty of paternal support. 

The various agencies that place out mothers and babies, 
including such classes as widows, deserted women and un- 
married mothers, therefore, do not vary the program much 
for these different groups. Perhaps a little greater caution 
is observed in connection with illegitimacy cases because 
of the moral problem involved. Otherwise the women are 
practically treated as though they were deserted wives. There 
is this difference however: agencies are frequently harsh 
and unyielding in their treatment of unmarried mothers. The 
determination that girls shall not repeat their offense re- 
sults in an inflexible plan often so objectionable to the girls 
that they revolt and exist as best they can without appeal 
for charitable aid except from friends and neighbors. 

Another reason for the frequent failure of the social 
agencies to rehabilitate a woman lies in the absence of suit- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 107 

able institutions and laws. An important need for successful 
work is a "mothers' and babies' home," a place where a wom- 
an can live and where her baby can be cared for while she is 
at work during the day. If the two are to remain together 
this plan often furnishes the only practicable means of gain- 
ing this result. Without such a home, the agencies have no 
propositions to make which a woman will consider, and, 
therefore, their reconstructive efforts collapse with the fre- 
quent result that the woman returns in a year or two with 
a second illegitimate baby, or joins the ever present body of 
prostitutes in the city. 

Until the last few years no test was made of the mental- 
ity of these girls. In fact, very little is attempted at the pres- 
ent time, except in a few public institutions. The agencies, 
therefore, have not always understood why women would 
consent to a plan of treatment and then deliberately break 
their promises. Many of these girls, it is now clear, are weak- 
minded because of neglected education, disease or inherent 
defect, and need the care properly accorded to the mentally 
subnormal. Some of these should be sent to institutions for 
the feeble-minded, but in no state has adequate provision been 
made for this class of women and especially for the high grade 
group of imbeciles or morons who are so dangerous to the 
community because of their susceptibility to the artifices of 
deceptive men. Meanwhile, countless agencies are engaged 
in pecking away at the problem but with little real success 
for no program can succeed which fails to take into consid- 
eration the mental condition of the patient. For example, 
one such case was spoken of in the following words : "during 
the last five years at least seventeen private agencies have 
worked on the case, demands have been made upon two of the 
county courts and also upon the House of Correction. In 

the meantime B has given birth to two children, 

neither of which belongs to her legal husband ; all of this 
futile effort because the State of Illinois has no institution 
for the care of, nor adequate laws for dealing with, its feeble- 



108 University of Missouri Studies 

minded adults. "^^ Were all the facts known it is certain that 
the record would show that a large proportion of all cases 
handled or touched did not develop successfully. The fault is 
not to be ascribed to particular agencies so much as to the 
general inadequacy of the social and legal machinery to deal 
with a given situation and this condition is based on the 
failure to understand fully the various factors involved in the 
solution of the problem which, as previously stated, are fath- 
er, mother, child and the community. 

Improved Methods of Work 

It is clear from the statistics that the amount of illegiti- 
macy in the United States is so large as to present a menac- 
ing problem. Accordingly the first duty of the social agen- 
cies is to make their case work effective. The recognition of 
this fact has resulted in the development under the guidance 
of the federal Children's Bureau of a standard face sheet or 
information schedule. The use of this card will promote 
standards among the agencies and foster the procuring of 
adequate information for the formulation of a well-considered 
plan of care and control. The weakness of our bastardy laws 
has made the rehabilitation of an unmarried mother so diffi- 
cult that intensive case work frequently has not even been 
attempted. The realization by both state law and social 
agency that we are dealing not with an unmarried mother and 
her child but with the problem of illegitimacy is rapidly 
forcing a more effective handling of the question. 

In about twenty cities, notably Boston, Cleveland and 
Philadelphia, conferences on illegitimacy have been estab- 
lished. Interested persons meet regularly to discuss the 
question, to increase the efficiency of the organizations which 
they represent, to perfect their methods of remedial work and 
to map out a program of constructive and preventive work. 

"National Conference of Charities and Corrections 1915. pp. 120-1,. 
paper by Herman Newman. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 109 

More effective service must begin with the hospitals, 
since it may be taken for granted that the great majority of 
prospective mothers will patronize a lying-in hospital. This 
should be something more than a resting place before and 
during confinement ; it should individualize and give each girl 
such prenatal instruction and supervision as is necessary, 
partly because of the effects in lessening still births and 
deaths in early infancy, partly because of the interest that will 
be developed in the baby. Prenatal care can be made not 
only physically advantageous to the mother and her baby, 
but it should be made as important a moral factor as possi- 
ble. It should be the first step in a program of keeping moth- 
er and child together. In every city will be found a number 
of girls who do not come to the hospitals. Such girls should, 
whenever and wherever possible, be placed under the care 
of the out-patient department of hospitals and given prenatal 
care and instruction. Special means of discovering such 
girls should be instituted in order that they may not bear 
the discomforts of pregnancy without friendly counsel and 
advice. 

When girls are accepted for care by hospitals or benev- 
olent institutions they should at once receive a careful phy- 
sical examination, be tested for disease and treated if neces- 
sary. A similar study of their mental status should be made 
to ascertain as closely as possible, their inherent capacity and 
the responsibility which may wisely be imposed on them. It 
is furthermore desirable that a social history of each case be 
obtained, and if the hospital expects to handle the case until 
it is finally disposed of the social history should be complete; 
that is, it should cover every aspect necessary for the de- 
velopment of an approved plan of dealing with the mother 
and the child. Some of the information should also be help- 
ful to the public officials in their plan to promote paterna' 
responsibility. 

If the mother is not diseased, nor feeble-minded, or for 
other reasons unable to care properly for the child, measures 



110 University of Missouri Studies 

should at once be taken to compel her to nurse the baby. The 
custom of commercial maternity homes to remove the baby 
so that the mother v^ill not see it and cannot nurse it is vi- 
cious and the result is most demoralizing. Let the prenatal 
w^ork make the mother capable of nursing the baby and then 
begin systematic education in love for the baby by making 
the mother perform the usual maternal functions. 

Experience has demonstrated the great superiority of the 
w^et-nurse, that is, of breast feeding under ordinary condi- 
tions. If the mother cannot nurse the child, a wet-nurse 
should be procured if possible. Frequently, some w^oman is 
able to provide milk for two babies, and in many cases a child 
may be partly breast-fed and partly bottle-fed, a policy super- 
ior to that of a complete substitution of cow's milk. The new 
ideal prohibits the wholesale feeding of children in foundling 
asylums with commercial milk or milk substitutes. In the 
first place, the large asylum housing many children has been 
proven to be a death trap because of the prevalence of dis- 
ease, lack of individual care and other disadvantages. In the 
second place, substitutes for breast-feeding have largely in- 
creased infant mortality. Accordingly, many babies are 
placed in private family homes and nursed by some woman 
who is a recent mother and who has probably lost her baby 
owing to causes that would not operate against the infant 
placed in her charge. The practice of many foundling asy- 
lums in boarding infants in this way indicates the strength 
of the movement, and the tendency to turn foundlings over 
to placing-out agents is a confirmation of the soundness of 
this policy. Many illegitimate babies and foundlings (most 
of these are illegitimate) are weak and physically subnormal 
and must receive special individual attention instead of being 
handled in job lots. They must either be cared for separately 
or in small groups, which will make individualization possi- 
ble. 

While at the hospital or maternity home the mother 
should be prepared for such disposition as is to be made of 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 111 

her. If she can be returned to her old home the way should 
be opened by bringing about the reconciliation of the parents 
and the girl. It is often possible to present the matter to irate 
parents in such a way as to compel them to recognize their 
function in a plan for the rehabilitation of their daughter. 
Frequently, only the bravest girls dare return home and for 
many other provision must be made. The girl incapable of 
entering some remunerative occupation needs to be taught so 
that she may become self-supporting. Then, if she is mental- 
ly normal, a situation should be found where she can support 
her baby directly, either by keeping the baby with her or pay- 
ing for its board. The former method is the better one, but 
outside of domestic service few occupations lend themselves 
to this arrangement. Unmarried mothers need to be placed 
most carefully in order that they may not again be tempted 
or yield to the persuasion of that class of men who may be 
seeking to destroy them. 

Greater efforts should be made to reconcile the man and 
woman. At present a very large proportion of the mothers 
are girls who expected to marry the fathers of their children 
and who yielded their bodies in a moment of trustfulness and 
perhaps forgetfulness. Probably, the man in many cases 
definitely promised to marry the girl at once if unsought-for 
consequences should occur ; but with the discovery of preg- 
nancy his ardor declined and presently he rejected all com- 
promise until forced to action by law. There is no doubt that 
a large number of men can be brought to see that guilt hangs 
heavy on their shoulders, that marriage is but a small recom- 
pense for their sin and that they owe to the woman and the 
child the duty of making the lot of the latter as hopeful as 
possible. The man who has all but ruined a woman should 
be big enough to give her his name and legitimate his child. 
Many marriages result happily and in numerous cases mar- 
riage is preferable to other methods of disposition even though 
the parents never live together, but are divorced within a 
short time. Nevertheless, there are countless instances where 



112 University of Missouri Studies 

marriage only aggravates an evil and ought therefore, be pre- 
vented. In such cases, financial responsibility is the chief 
objective to be sought and to be imposed on the man. It is 
v^rong to consider marriage a general remedy. Too often the 
result is a life of hopeless incompatibility. No doubt this 
situation v^ill be improved v^hen the status of illegitimacy 
is abandoned and every man becomes morally and economi- 
cally responsible for his children w^hether born in lav^ful 
v^edlock or not. 

Often the plan of rehabilitation fails and a woman has a 
second illegitimate child. The rule of certain institutions not 
to accept such v^omen must be sufficiently modified to make 
ample accommodations possible. Private institutions should 
proceed slowly in rejecting repeaters. The nature of the case 
rather than the number of offenses should determine their 
eligibility to the hospital. In no case should the lines be drawn 
so rigidly that a woman of this type cannot gain hospital fa- 
cilities, but be compelled to turn to private commercial homes 
when the need of enlightened care and of a progressive pro- 
gram is so great. There is no doubt that many institutions, 
if they had carried out a sensible and constructive program 
for an unmarried mother would not be compelled to endure 
the humiliation of listening to her request for re-admission 
for a second confinement. She could have been reclaimed 
and adjusted to normal life. The repeater cannot be rejected 
and abandoned to unsympathetic routine workers. The more 
serious the case the greater the need and more vigorous the 
energy required to reclaim her. 

The agencies dealing with such women should arrange 
to divide the work so that if circumstances force some organi- 
zations to limit themselves to women with a first illegitimate 
child, all cases, whether promising or unpromising, may be 
given the maximum of profitable constructive care. Fre- 
quently, if not usually, the mother of two illegitimate children 
is feeble-minde'd or otherwise abnormal and therefore in need 
of a special form of care. Social agencies cannot afford to 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 113 

insist that such women keep their babies. In fact no set prin- 
ciple on this point can be established. The feeble-minded 
mother is generally unable to care properly for her child and 
the only right and merciful procedure when the fact appears 
is to separate them and to treat each according to the need. 
In a similar way the very young girl may be an entirely in- 
competent mother and in many cases should not be burdened 
with the task of caring for her child. 

To accomplish good results no effort with those respon- 
sible for an illegitimate child will be more effective than vig- 
orous action against the putative father. In the great ma- 
jority of cases the identity of the man is fairly well known, 
but heretofore the courts have been singularly obdurate in 
designating him. The legal obstacles that prevent unmarried 
mothers from making a case, and the unsocial judges that 
give the man every opportunity for escape must be eliminated 
and better laws and progressive judges substituted. No so- 
cial agency whether private or publicly controlled does its full 
duty unless it makes every reasonable effort to gain some 
financial responsibility for the child from its putative father. 
Nothing will make men respect the virtue of young women 
so much as the consciousness that an overt act of immorality 
will inevitably prove a costly experiment. The American 
social worker has hardly begun to recognize the possibilities 
of the legal control of illegitimacy. Furthermore, our one- 
sided laws and abominable court procedure deter hundreds of 
women from entering the courtroom. Rather would they 
suffer alone and underg'o whatever consequences fate will 
award them. No confidence in society can be restored in any 
woman who finds that she alone must bear a burden, the 
existence of which is partly, if not largely, due to a more 
economically capable individual. Effective case work must 
lead eventually to a thorough-going system of laws and pub- 
lic administration dealing with the problem of illegitimacy 
in all its aspects. 

In conclusion it should be emphasized that in the treat- 



114 University of Missouri Studies 

ment of illegitimacy many existing and preconceived notions 
must be abandoned, an individualized plan of treatment must 
be found and executed and the whole fitted into a v^ise pro- 
gram of preventive effort. Unless those dealing w^ith illegiti- 
macy carefully study its causes and observe the effects of the 
treatment given they will not be able to outline any compre- 
hensive plans for the youth of the land, which will definitely 
reduce the evil of sex irregularity. 



CHAPTER V 

THE OUTCOME FOR THE CHILD 

An interesting question for the statistician and the practi- 
cal social worker is, what are the chances and opportunities 
of the illegitimate child? What becomes of him if he sur- 
vives birth and actually starts along the road of life? A cor- 
rect answer, if it could be attained, would be most illuminat- 
ing and helpful in reconstructing our program of remedial 
effort. Some facts, however, have been gradually ascertained, 
especially such as relate to viability, vitality, criminality and 
mental capacity. Other information is rather fragmentary 
and incomplete, nevertheless suggestive and helpful. 

Still Births 

In the first place, illegitimacy vitally affects the still 
birth rate. In the following table are presented summarized 
facts covering various localities both in this country and else- 
where and showing the difference in proportion of still births 
between legitimate and illegitimate cases.*^ 



"Table based on figures from statistical reports, special investi- 
gations and U. S. Report on Birth Statistics, 1918. 

(115) 



116 



University of Missouri Studies 
STILL BIRTHS 









Percent of still 










births among 




Locality- 


Year 


Total births Legitimate 


births 


Illegitimate births 


Bavaria 


1910 


3.7 


3.6 




3.3 


Munich 


1910 


3.8 


3.4 




4.8 


Baden 


1895 





2.7 




3.4 


Ohio 


1909 


3.3 


3.1 




4.9 


Boston 


1913 










5.3 


Cincinnati 


1912-14 










7.5(white) 


Cincinnati 


1913-14 










16.0(negro) 


U. S. Birth 












Registra- 


- 










tion* 


1918 


4.0 


3.9 




9.0 


Area 












White 







3.7 




7.3 


Colored 




.... 


7.5 




11.9 



*Figures for United States represent proportion of still births to 
live births. 



The foregoing figures indicate that in the localities desig- 
nated from two to four per cent of all births are still born. 
In every case also, the proportion of still births is less among 
legitimate births than among the illegitimate. The city of 
Munich presents a rate that is higher for each group than the 
average for all Bavaria, and the percentage of increase among 
the illegitimate as compared v^ith the legitimate is also great- 
er. In Ohio, the rate is more than twice as high among the 
former than the latter; in St. Louis also the proportions are 
about two to one. The following figures, approaching the 
problem from a slightly different angle, indicate similar re- 
sults : In Washington, D. C, while the percentage of all 
births in 1911 that was illegitimate was 9.7, the percentage 
of still births that w^as illegitimate was 19.5, or more than 
twice as high. In Baden in 1905, the comparative figures 
were 7.1 and 9.2 per cent. This difference, however, is much 



-\ 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 117 

less than that apparently prevailing in the other localities 
mentioned. 

The wide differences between the rate of still births 
among illegitimate and legitimate births have not been ade- 
quately explained. One cause is the greater tendency to still 
births among the first-born. Since nearly all illegitimate 
births are first births while among the legitimate only about 
one-fourth are first births, we should expect a much higher 
still-birth rate among the former. Were a fair comparison 
of first births possible, then the disproportion would probably 
be much less than the above figures indicate. Nevertheless, 
considerable differences would remain. No doubt, the fact 
of unwanted motherhood is a prominent cause of the excessive 
proportion of still births among the illegitimate births. Only 
too often, the women cannot afford to rest or even prepare 
themselves before confinement. Hard work, ignorance, 
shame, lack of medical care, a cast-off condition, and similar 
causes — all tend to undermine the physique and vigor of the 
helpless women, and as a natural result, a larger proportion 
of babies are still-born. It frequently is true, also, that the 
women do not object to this disposition of their troubles and 
take steps which lead to the death of the foetus. Probably 
attempts to procure abortion frequently lead to still births. 

A factor worthy of special mention is disease. Many of 
the women contract social disease from their male compan- 
ions, and still births often follow. No statistics are available 
to determine the proportion of unmarried mothers who are 
suffering from syphilis, but hospital records indicate that it 
is a considerable percentage, no doubt much greater than in 
the community at large. An excessive number of still births 
is, therefore, inevitable. So unnatural and abnormal are the 
prenatal conditions and influences surrounding the mother 
that a sound, healthy babyhood can hardly be expected. If 
proper prenatal care of married mothers greatly reduces the 
number of still births, as experience shows, then surely the 
aggravation of the difficult conditions that attend pregnancy, 



118 University of Missouri Studies . 

among the unmarried mothers, will produce a high still-birth 
rate. 

Infant Mortality 

A second abnormality consists in the excessive rate of 
mortality among illegitimate babies. This condition is almost 
universal, the only known exceptions occurring when certain 
standards of hospital care have been obtained. The follow- 
ing European statistics illustrate the general comparisons and 
serve as examples of others.^^ 

DEATHS PER lOOO BIRTHS 









Proportion of Illegitimate 


Eocality and Age 


Legitimate 


Illegitimate 


to 100 legitimate 


Germany (1910) 








0-1 year 


182 


299 


164 


England and 








Wales (1915) 








0-1 month 


36.4 


69.2 


190 


Urban 


36.6 


70.7 


193 


Rural 


35.5 


63.6 


179 


1-3 months 


17.9 


42.1 


235 


3-6 months 


18.0 


41.5 


230 


9-13 months 


16.2 


21.9 


135 


0-12 months 


105.3 


203.3 


193 


Urban 


109.9 


217.7 


198 


Rural 


86.6 


151.4 


178 


0-1 week (1911) 2.3 


4.2 


180 


Urban 


2.3 


4.3 


183 


Rural 


2.2 


3.5 


154 



A glance at the table given above shows that among 
illegitimate children the infant mortality is from 35 to 135 per cent 

^'(Statistical Yearbook of Germany, 1910 & 1913; also 78th An- 
nual Report of Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages 
in England and Wales. An able discussion of the relation of illegiti- 
macy to infant mortality is found in the Children's Bureau Report 
on Illegitimacy as a Child Welfare Problem. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 119 

higher than among the legitimate. The disproportion in England 
is apparently greater than in Germany, a fact no doubt due in part 
to the greater urbanization in the former country, and to the high 
mortality rates prevailing in Germany among legitimate chil- 
dren. In England, as the details show, the conditions of il- 
legitimate children are relatively more favorable in the rural 
than in the urban districts, and the chances of life are propor- 
tionately better during the first week than any later time dur- 
ing the first year. The statistics also show that the heaviest 
relative loss is during the second and third months, the pro- 
portionate mortality being computed at 235. At this time it 
is considerably higher for males than for females. The small- 
est disproportions occur in the last quarter of the year when 
the comparative death rate is about 35 per cent hig-her among 
the illegitimate children than the rest. This gain is largely 
due to the excessive elimination of babies during the preced- 
ing months. The low rates in the country districts are due 
to the superior care given to the illegitimate child in the rural 
sections. Here we find that not only is the death rate for all 
babies lower, but illegitimacy does not interfere so much as 
it does in the city with devoted maternal care. These facts 
relate to conditions before the great war and represent normal 
relationships such as have not yet been attained since peace 
was established. 

There are few American statistics on the relative death 
rates among legitimate and illegitimate children. The figures 
by the Federal Children's Bureau for Johnstown, Pennsyl- 
vania, show an. infant rate of 281.3 per 1000 for the illegiti- 
m-ate as compared with 130.7 for the legitimate, but the num- 
ber of cases is very small. The investigation made in Boston 
also discloses a higher rate, but the statistics are incomplete 
and exact comparisons cannot be made. Cincinnati in 1912 
reported an illegitimate infant mortality more than twice that 
of the legitimate — 20.9 per cent compared to 10.3 per cent. 

It is difficult to understand why illegitimate children do 
not suffer more proportionally during the first month than 



120 University of Missouri Studies 

during the second and third. Perhaps the hospital care which 
so large a proportion of these babies receive is one cause of 
this condition but other reasons undoubtedly operate. On the 
other hand, the baby of nine months or more has passed the 
most dangerous months of life and the illegitimate child no 
longer suffers from such serious disadvantages as operated 
before. It is clear, however, that throughout the year the 
illegitimate child suffers relatively. He receiv.es inferior care, 
being frequently, if not usually, in incompetent hands or liv- 
ing under unfavorable conditions, and his heredity is, on the 
whole, of mediocre character. 

English statistics also throw light on the relative mor- 
tality from certain diseases. These facts are shown in the 
following table :** 

MORTALITY OF ILLEGITIMATE INFANTS (1915) COM- 
PARED WITH LEGITIMATE 

Proportion of illegitimate to 100 legitimate 
Disease Males Females 



Atrophy, Debility, etc. 


284 


252 


Premature Birth 


174 


168 


Whooping Cough 


115 


85 


Diarrhea and Enteritis 


226 


232 


Tuberculous Diseases 


174 


181 


Syphilis 


652 


939 


All diseases 


190 


197 



The most striking fact indicated in this table is the rela- 
tive death rate from syphilis. To be sure the tendency to call 
the disease by its right name is greater in the case of the il- 
legitimate children than of others ; nevertheless, a proportion 
of 9 to 1 clearly shows that a large number of unmarried 
mothers are physically diseased and that the unfortunate 
babes must pay the penalty. 

**78th Annual Report of Registrar General of Births, Deaths & 
Marriages in England & Wales. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 121 

An analysis of the deaths from syphilis shows that the 
disproportions vary but little from country to town. It is 
quite apparent that everywhere a large number of unmarried 
mothers are afflicted with the disease. Confirmatory in a 
feeble way are the recent statements made by the Massachu- 
setts State Board of Charity, according to which out of 18 
babies dying at the state infirmary in 1913, eleven suffered 
from congenital syphilis and out of 30 dying in 1914, six were 
similarly affected. One-third of the deaths for the two years 
are, therefore, charged against this disease. 

The heavy death rate from diseases of early infancy de- 
pends largely on the abnormal gestational condition of the 
mother. The child has not developed under the best physical 
environment and this interference with its natural develop- 
ment leaves its mark in subnormal physique and mentality. 
Recent prenatal work has proven the effectiveness of eflfort 
with prospective mothers. 

That much of the high mortality from diseases of early 
infancy is avoidable has been amply demonstrated but the 
unmarried mother can with difficulty be brought into a state 
of mind and of body which will radically reduce the death 
rate from this group of diseases. 

Illeg-itimate children suffer from inferior methods of feed- 
ing. Many are separated from their mothers, so that, instead 
of being nursed directly, an excessive proportion are fed on 
animal milk or milk substitutes. The bad effects of this con- 
dition are well known as nothing can take the place of mater- 
nal nursing. The substitute foods are largely responsible for 
the high rate of mortality from the diseases of the digestive 
system. Such foods are generally used in hospitals and found- 
ling asylums, although wet-nurses are gradually being intro- 
duced. Probably a large proportion of the heavy mortality 
among illegitimate children results from the serious conse- 
quences of the unnatural methods of institutional care. As 
statistics have abundantly shown, babies in private homes, 
even the wretched and degraded homes of our slums, have a 



122 University of Missouri Studies 

lower death rate than that obtaining in most institutions that 
care for babies. This fact applies to both legitimate and il- 
legitimate children. But only a small proportion of the for- 
mer receive institutional care, while a majority of the illegti- 
mate children are born in institutions. The death rate of the 
latter is, therefore, profoundly affected by this fact, while it 
is hardly colored for legitimate children. Were there no other 
causes for differences in the proportions this cause alone 
would produce wide discrepancies between the rates of the 
two groups. The lower rate in the rural districts is, no doubt, 
due in part to the greater tendency to care for the illegitimate 
child directly in the home. 

English statistics indicate that institutions may cause as 
much havoc among one group as among the other. In work- 
houses outside of London the infant mortality was actually 
lower among the illegitimate than among the legitimate chil- 
dren. In both cases, however, the rate was more than double 
the normal rate for all England. In the London workhouses, 
on the other hand, the' illegitimate children suffered the high- 
er rate. The Minority Report of the Royal Commission on 
the Poor Laws says in this connection :*^ ''The variations in 
this respect as between the different ages, whether in London 
or elsewhere, are apparently quite without connection with 
illegitimacy." If similar treatment is given, the results ap- 
parently do not differ widely. The illegitimate child, how- 
ever, suffering from institutional care, has a chance much in- 
ferior to that of the legitimate child with the advantages of 
home care. 

Considering the statistics of social disease as represented 
above, it is significant to note that the proportionate death 
rates in institutions have not been materially affected hereby. 
It must be overlooked, however, that these diseases are wide- 
ly prevalent among classes that patronize the public insti- 
tutions. As to innate physical inferiority, little evidence has 

''Page 85. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 123 

as yet been collected to show that the illegitimate child suf- 
fers in this respect. The differences which exist are largely 
explained by the unsatisfactory environment in which the un- 
married mother and her child are usually required to live, 
hours of labor, quantity and quality of food, recreational op- 
portunities and mental unrest being the principal factors in- 
volved. The greater incapacity of men of illegitimate origin 
for military service and their inability to meet the tests must 
be credited chiefly to the unfavorable and precarious circum- 
stances of their lives. 

The social and mental status of the mother is an impor- 
tant condition of the problem and profoundly affects the rate 
of mortality. Among the ignorant the rate is high even for 
legitimate children and as the majority of illegitimate chil- 
dren are born of ignorant mothers, high rates among this 
class should be expected. Few figures are available to indi- 
cate the relation of these conditions to the general level of 
mortality, but English statistics throw some light on the 
problem. The following figures for the year 1911 compare 
death rates among the illegitimate children of mothers en- 
gaged in nineteen occupations or groups of occupations:^® 



**73d Annual Report of the Registrar General of Births and 
Deaths. 



124 University of Missouri Studies 

DEATHS UNDER ONE PER 1000 OF ILLEGITIMATE CHIL- 
DREN ACCORDING TO OCCUPATION OF MOTH- 
ER--ENGLAND & WALES, 1911 

Occupation of Mother Number 

Costermonger, Hawker 325 

Cotton factory worker 301 

Barmaid 287 

Wool, Worsted Manufacturing 286 

Metal, Machine, Implement worker __ 271 

Charwoman 266 

Unoccupied, no occupation, or not stated 264 

Other textile employ 263 

Tailoress 258 

Laundry, Washwoman 246 

Waitress 234 

Farm Labor 234 

Domestic Servant 231 

Dressmaker 192 

Teacher 190 

Shop-keeper, shop assistant 168 

Commercial clerk 148 

All other occupations 345 

All occupations 245 



Rather remarkable differences are displayed in the fore- 
going statistics, with costermongers and commercial clerks 
representing the extremes. The variations are not amenable 
to easy explanation, since many factors must enter to produce 
the results. Ignorance and dissipation, no doubt, are causes 
of the high rates, while intelligence, wet-nursing and proper 
care account partly for the lower rates among the babies of 
clerks, school teachers, shopkeepers, etc. Various causes of 
undetermined weight, however, complicate the problem and 
prevent hasty generalizations. 

A considerable proportion of the illegitimate children 
gravitate to the foundling asylums. The death rates formerly 
prevailing in these institutions were so high that almost the 
entire infant population was eventually wiped out. In recent 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 125 

years tremendous improvements have been made ; neverthe- 
less, death rates of from 40 to 50 per cent still prevail in some 
of the asylums. Rates have been materially lowered when- 
ever wet-nursing and temporary family care have been insti- 
tuted. In New York City a large number of babies are being 
nursed in private homes by poor mothers and yet under con- 
ditions infinitely superior to those formerly prevailing in the 
asylums. In 1913 the New York Foundling Asylum had 1457 
children, a large proportion of whom were illegitimate, in 
boarding homes. There the younger ones were cared for by 
wet-nurses, that is, by mothers who were able to nurse these 
babies directly and care for them. By providing a baby with 
individual care in a home and supervising it in that home 
several institutions have greatly reduced their death rate. 
This reduction means a gratifying decrease in the number of 
deaths of illegitimate children. 

Dependency 

A large number of illegitimate children are from the very 
beginning under the care of philanthropic agencies. The 
mothers have been forced into dependency and the children 
naturally begin life under serious economic handicaps. An 
excessive rate of dependency among such children must there- 
fore be expected. The hig-h mortality will however, some- 
what reduce the disproportions. The child-caring institu- 
tions and societies of the state of New York illustrate the 
conditions that may be expected. Out of 35,138 children in 
their care June 30, 1917, 29,860 or 85 per cent were foundlings, 
illegitimate children, or those regarding whose parents noth- 
ing was known. Of course practically the entire number are 
illegitimate. Out of 10,678 children committed to institu- 
tions during the year, 1381 or 13 per cent were foundlings, 
illegitimate or of unknown parentage.*'^ According to the 

*' Fifty-first Annual Report of the New York State Board of 
Charities — pp. 100-106. 



126 University of Missouri Studies 

estimate of the volume of illegitimacy in the United States 
these figures show that an undue proportion of illegitimate 
children drift into the hands of the child-caring agencies. On 
the other hand, a study by the Missouri School of Social 
Economy of 1000 neglected children appearing in the Juvenile 
Court of St. Louis indicates that while the great majority 
came from broken homes and had disreputable or incom- 
petent parents, the number of children known to be illegiti- 
mate was only 48, or less than five per cent of the total, a pro- 
portion which probably does not exceed the percentage of 
illegitimacy among the classes from which the neglected 
children are largely drawn. However the causes of neglect 
differ from those of dependency and illegitimacy may be a 
relatively minor factor. 

What becomes of the baby of a well-to-do mother? This 
is a question that can receive no definite statistical answer. 
That many girls solve their problem by marriage is true. 
That many patronize the commercial maternity homes or ex- 
clusive and high priced sanitariums which receive such girls 
is also well-known. Their desire to be liberated from the 
bonds of child care and from the objective evidence of a 
previous sin impels many to give up their babies and allow 
them to be placed out for adoption. There is no doubt that 
poor mothers maintain and keep with them a much larger 
proportion of babies than do the wealthy. The program of 
constructive philanthropy has enjoyed some success with 
the poor but has hardly touched the well-to-do. Furthermore, 
the difficulties are greater. Many respectable men cannot re- 
tain their positions if the public knows that their daughters 
have sinned. The disgrace affects not only the girl directly 
but threatens to ruin her parents. And if they escape ostra- 
cism the lot of the child becomes exceedingly difficult, espe- 
cially if it is a girl. 

In order to meet conditions such as these, ^'sanitaria" or 
expensive maternity homes have been established in various 
places. Almost without exception the girls coming to these 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 127 

homes expect to relinquish their children and to return home 
''cured" and in good spirits. Devoted and well-wishing as 
the heads of such institutions may be their remedy for the 
evil is, after all, one that absolves women and men from re- 
sponsibility for their action and that fails to give adequate 
assurance that illegitimacy will be reduced thereby. How- 
ever, we also find public sanction for such a course as is evi- 
denced, for example, by the Massachusetts law for the pro- 
tection of infants according to which the mother of an illegiti- 
mate child under two years of age, who is a resident of the 
state and who has previously borne a good character, may, 
with the consent of the state board of charity, give up her 
baby to the board for adoption. The illegitimate daughter 
of a well-to-do woman has a most unenviable future unless 
she can be adopted into some foster home. Here she can 
practically gain the standing and respect accorded to a nat- 
ural daughter and excellent prospects may lie before her. 
Nevertheless, this fact does not justify the adoption of the 
principle that mother and daughter should be separated. It 
does indicate the difficulties that are now encountered and 
partially explains the psychology of the mother and her par- 
ents. It represents a condition that must be faced squarely 
with due regard for the sentiments of the family and the per- 
manent interests of society. 

There is very little exact information concerning the fate 
of the child of the average unmarried mother. The strenuous 
efforts of social agencies to keep mother and child together 
have largely resulted in failure. Among the reasons for this 
result are failure to obtain means of support from the father, 
premature placing of mother and child in family or home, 
lack of adequate follow-up system, the indifference of rela- 
tives, an inadequate mothers' pension law, arbitrary plans for 
the mother and inattention to the problem of her social read- 
justment. The actual situation in regard to the home care 
of illegitimate children is illustrated by the figures presented 



128 University of Missouri Studies 

for Cincinnati by Miss Helen Trounstine.*® These figures 
show that out of 666 children 14.8 per cent were in the care 
of their mothers but many babies had died and if living babies 
alone were considered the proportion would be twenty-one. 
Apparently the great majority of illegitimate children have 
been separated from their mothers. Furthermore the propor- 
tion is much larger among the white than the colored popula- 
tion. No doubt the greater gravity of illegitimacy among the 
white group accounts in part for this condition. In a few 
cases the white mothers boarded their children or placed 
them with relatives and had not wholly abandoned them. In 
this connection again the rate for colored women was much 
higher. 

The Christian Service League of Kansas also submits 
some interesting facts relative to this problem. Out of 285 
mothers coming under its care only 67 kept their babies for 
a considerable period of time and of these only five retained 
them until the children arrived at school age. The superin- 
tendent of the League claims that the mothers are not with 
the children enough to develop the mother spirit and event- 
ually most unmarried mothers become permanently separated 
from their children. Many women give their babies away or 
abandon them. A considerable number of these are eventual- 
ly adopted or placed in foster homes. 

The Massachusetts State Board of Charity presented 
data in 1918 relating to fifty girls under its supervision for 
periods varying from three to five years. These girls repre- 
sent selected cases in the sense that those whose babies died 
under three are not included in the tabulation. Sixteen mar- 
ried but only three the father of the child. Twenty-three of 
the children are regularly with their mothers and of the 
twenty-six boarded the mothers contribute to the support in 
twenty cases. One of the tragedies observed is the lack of 
interest by relatives, only fifteen out of 50 groups of relatives 

*^Trounstine, Helen S. Illegitimacy in Cincinnati. — p. 329. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 129 

manifesting any concern. The girls have been forced to rely 
largely on the kindness of strangers ; nevertheless most of 
them became self-supporting. Only three of the children 
were classified as subnormal and the health of 38 was rated 
'*good."^^ 

Discrimination Against Bastards 

The general character of persons of illegitimate parentage 
has received but little attention. It is well known that a 
considerable number of men famous in politics, art, science 
and letters were of illegitimate origin, but the number of such 
women is comparatively small. How far individuals are ac- 
tually handicapped because of unlawful ancestry cannot be 
definitely stated and perhaps only guessed at. However the 
attitude of society is becoming increasingly hopeful in this 
respect as is evidenced by the tabulations of the Boston Con- 
ference on Illegitimacy according to which the attitude of a 
given number of women's club officers, physicians, lawyers, 
overseers of the poor, and manufacturers was represented as 
follows :^« 

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BASTARDS 



Attitude Yes 



Willing to employ illegitimate 

child 428 

Would not discriminate against 

illegitimate child 402 

Would vote for persons of il- 
legitimate parentage 401 

If these answers express the genuine convictions of the 

*^Massachusetts State Board of Charity. 40th Annual Report of, 
(1918)— pp. 121-124. 
'"Report, p. 15. 





Doubtful, 




No 


Conditional 
etc. 


Total 


5 


48 


481 


11 


68 


481 


16 


64 


481 



130 University of Missouri Studies 

individual interviev^ed then more than four-fifths of the social 
classes represented would not discriminate against a person 
of illegitimate parentage. As soon as this hopeful state of 
mind can be realized in actual life, better opportunities for 
the illegitimate child will develop. In some respects it is un- 
fortunate that the economic welfare of the child is largely 
bound up with the prospects of the mother. As may be ex- 
pected, a majority of the answers to the questionnaire referred 
to above showed a prejudice against the mothers and a large 
majority were hostile to the fathers. In fact the general at- 
titude toward the father is much more unfriendly than that 
towards the mother, an indication that society believes that 
the major portion of the moral blame rests on the man. Nat- 
urally, children living with their mother must share her trials 
and difficulties even though society holds them blameless. 
On the other hand, often a mother marries a man other than 
the father of her child and for such a child the social advan- 
tages are quite as good as if its own parents had intermarried 
and legitimated their offspring. In the United States a very 
small proportion of the illegitimate children gain a right to 
their father's name, in England there are none, but in parts 
of Continental Europe, where inquiry into paternity is legal, 
thirty per cent of the children are legitimated within a period 
of five years. Nevertheless, the rate of illegitimacy is so 
high that a large proportion of children never acquire the 
right to use their father's name. 

Criminality 

Since the illegitimate child is usually a member of an 
incomplete family and its mother is often the victim of op- 
probrium, we may naturally expect such children to deviate 
somewhat from the normal. Their environment often con- 
duces directly to immorality. Drahms claims that out of 
4838 male juvenile delinquents in French reformatories in 
1896, only 517 were of legitimate birth, and 4321 or 89.34 per 
cent, or nearly nine-tenths were illegitimate. The number of de- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 131 

linquent girls was 1095 and of these 246 were legitimate and 849 
or 77.53 per cent were illegitimate.^^ In France about 10 per cent 
of all births are illegitimate, but owing to an excessive death rate 
the proportion of all juveniles who are illegitimate is much 
less. Consequently, it appears that the illegitimate furnish 
at least 8 or 9 times as many delinquent children as their pro- 
portion in the population. In one respect, however, these 
figures are surprising. The tendency towards crime among 
the illegitimate boys seems to be greater than that among the 
girls. The feeble chances of the girls naturally lead to ab- 
normal living, and eventually to criminal habits; accordingly 
a higher proportion might be expected among them. 

I Sigmund Engel, in discussing criminality among persons 
of illegitimate parentage says, "there is not a single civilized 
country in which we fail to find that the average criminality 
rate of illegitimate children is considerably higher than the 
average criminality rate of the legitimate. "^^ He says further 
that this difference applies to the number of offenses com- 
mitted per person and to each punishable offense; also that 
among recidivists the influence is particularly marked./ Amer- 
ican statistics showing the relation of illegitimacy to crime 
are not available, but lack of opportunity undoubtedly oper- 
ates here as elsewhere. 

Borosini says that several European countries show an ex- 
cess of illegitimate persons among the prisoners, especially 
the minor offenders. He also adds that at one time over 75 
per cent of the prostitutes in Berlin were illegitimate and 
that out of a group of delinquent girls in Munich, one-third 
were of illegitimate origin. The American figures deal par- 
ticularly with the relation of broken or incomplete homes to 
criminality and delinquency. That the absence of the father 
or the mother or of both parents profoundly affects the rate 
of delinquency is clearly shown. The major causes of crim- 

''Drahms, August— "The Criminal," p. 285. 
""Elements of Child Protection," p. 97. 



132 University of Missouri Studies 

inality all operate upon the illeg-itimate child with greater in- 
tensity than they do upon the children shielded by a normal 
home. 

Mentality 

In estimating the general mentality of persons of illegiti- 
mate birth we must keep in mind the majority of such per- 
sons and not the exceptional ones. It is true that a few bril- 
liant men have come from an unsanctioned mating and may 
have been children of a natural and untrammeled love. Society^ 
however, is principally concerned with the level of mentality that 
prevails among the illegitimate. Here again, statistics are largely 
wanting; nevertheless, the question almost carries its own 
answer. A large proportion of the mothers are either feeble- 
minded or mentally on the border-line. That a considerable 
amount of this subnormality is hereditary has been shown 
by such men as Goddard, Davenport, Tredgold and others. 
Even assuming that the mentality of the fathers is of a dis- 
tinctly creditable grade, it necessarily follows that illegitimate 
children on the whole inherit a more feeble mentality than 
the average for the community as a whole. There can be no 
doubt that an excessive proportion of the feeble-minded are 
illegitimate. Since weak-mindedness is largely inherited and 
leads to lack of will power many illegitimate births among 
the feeble-minded are to be expected. Social disease also co- 
operates with heredity to break down mentality. 

The high death rate from syphilis among illegitimate 
children indicates the abnormal physical conditions with 
which these children must cope. The effect is expressed also 
among the children who survive, among many of whom it 
takes the form of physical weakness, deformity, and mental 
dullness, if not feeble-mindedness. 

In spite of the handicaps which may be detailed to show 
the disadvantages from which the illegitimate child labors, 
Vv^e cannot but feel that, with the exception of feeble-minded- 
ness these handicaps depend very largely on society's discrim- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 133 

ination against him, on the harshness of her program and on 
the failure of parents to carry out their moral obligations to 
their children. Lack of care and of opportunity are not in- 
herent and the community can right the wrong done to in- 
nocent children by treating them fairly and justly and by re- 
fusing to stigmatize them for the sins of others. What be- 
comes of the illegitimate child is not a question with a fated 
answer. 

The normal child, when once it receives justice, will en- 
joy with the legitimate child the opportunity for right and 
normal living. There will be little reason for its being less 
successful economically and socially than if it had been born 
in lawful wedlock. 

The feeble-minded child, however, has no future and un- 
less protected or properly isolated will in turn become the 
parent of illegitimate feeble-minded children. 



CHAPTER VI 
AGE OF CONSENT 

Age of Moral Responsibility 

Within a comparatively few years the legal responsibility 
of children for their actions and conduct has been revolution- 
ized. The child is no longer considered a man or a woman, 
but a mentally and morally immature person who should be. 
treated as such. Physiology tells us of his physical immatur- 
ity; psychology performs the same office for his mentality 
and both enable us to deal more intelligently than heretofore 
with the irresponsibility of childhood and youth. 

The history of the world is replete with amazing illus- 
trations of burdens thrust upon, and privileges granted to,, 
immature children. The old Saxon law and its successor,, 
English law, which form the basis of American jurisprudence,, 
were less harsh than the rules of the Orient, but even these 
were brutal in their disregard of human nature. The age of 
discretion was fixed at fourteen for boys and twelve for girls. 
At seven the girl could consent to matrimony and fathers 
had the right to bring marriages about, but at twelve she 
was privileged to ratify or annul her consent. 

Children of an early age were regarded as normally cul- 
pable for acts committed. It was held that, while a child of 
seven could not be guilty of a felony, a child of eight could 
be charged with the commitment of a serious crime and be 
convicted therefor. In the 17th century a boy of eight set 
fire to two barns. He was apprehended, tried, convicted and 
sentenced to be hanged ; and he was hanged. English his- 
tory also tells us of a girl of 13 who killed her mistress and 
who was burned to death for the offense. The tenderness of 
youth received but scant consideration and the acts of chil- 

(134) 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 135 

dren like those of adults, werq visited with swift and cruel 
forms of punishment. 

Barbarous' as it may seem to us today, ten years was the 
accepted age of consent according to common law. Any male 
having carnal knowledge of a female under ten years of age 
with or without her consent was guilty of rape and punish- 
able accordingly. If the female was ten years or over and she 
consented to immoral relations, no crime was committed. 
The law therefore assumed that a girl of ten had sufficient 
knowledge and adequate appreciation of the meaning of sex 
relations to relieve any seducing male of a charge of crime. 

Since the age of discretion was fixed at twelve some con- 
fusion developed in regard to the exact age of consent, and 
in order to avoid further misapprehension, a law was passed 
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, according to which ten 
years was established as the age of consent, and carnal knowl- 
edge of any female under this age, although she may have 
freely consented, was made a felony. The English law, car- 
ried to the United States, included this traditional and statu- 
tory age of consent; consequently, practically every American 
state formerly fixed the age at ten years. Delaware, how- 
ever, enacted a definite statute fixing the age at seven years. 
Moral discretion and knowledge of the meaning and conse- 
quences of sex relations at seven years ! Can any travesty on 
justice perform a more brutal ofifense? On the whole, in the 
different states of the Union, a female of ten was presumed 
to be incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse, but this 
presumption was rebuttable as is shown in the following ex- 
tract from a decision in 1867 by the Ohio Supreme Court, 
relative to the right to charge a boy of fifteen, who had car- 
nal knowledge of a girl of eight, with assault. 

"Some age must be fixed upon below which no child 
would be deemed capable of giving that intelligent consent 
which would, in the eyes of just people, be any excuse or 
even mitigation of an act of carnal knowledge beyond what 
would exist were it actually against the will of the child. Tert 



136 University of Missouri Studies 

years is, perhaps, as safe as any age that can be fixed upon. 

"The testimony satisfies us that she, (the injured girl), 
had quite intelligence enough and knowledge enough to un- 
derstand substantially the nature of the act attempted and 
to render her actual consent inconsistent with the legal idea 
of an assault."^^ 

Is it any wonder that, with philosophy prevailing such as 
the above, women began to rebel against the outrages per- 
petrated upon their sex? It is inconceivable, how, in the 
face of the teachings of modern psychology, so ridiculous a 
position could be held. Ten years "as safe as any age" for 
an age of consent ! A girl of eight able to understand substan- 
tially the nature of the act committed. Such absurdity needs 
no comment. Nevertheless, it was this point of view which 
prevented the advent of age of consent laws that have har- 
monized with the conditions of modern society. 

The determxination of a proper age of consent depends 
on several considerations. Any age below puberty ignores 
the physical immaturity of the female and never could have 
had any justification even in the days of common law. The 
approximate ag-e of puberty is twelve years, two more than 
the traditional age of consent. Puberty, however, does 
not signify physical maturity. It merely represents the first 
stage of this development. After this period the sex impulse 
begins to assert itself and consent to carnal knowledge may 
imply the desire to gain sexual gratification. 

The second consideration relates to knowledge of the 
consequences of sex irregularity. That a girl under the age 
of puberty can have full knowledge in this respect is unthink- 
able. She may know a few superficial facts, but a deep meas- 
ure of knowledge is impossible. Furthermore, several addi- 
tional years of life do not adequately broaden that knowledge 
so that the choice of immorality is accompanied with an ac- 
curate estimate of the pain and sorrow that may be involved. 

''17 Ohio State Reports. 518-19. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 137 

And as far as physical suffering is involved a girl or woman 
who has never borne a child, has but little idea of the nature 
of the suffering that must be endured. 

Closely allied to the second factor is the moral responsi- 
bility of the girl. At what age should the full consequences 
of a moral lapse be thrust upon the young woman? What is 
the proper age of discretion in relation to sex habits? The 
juvenile court age has been raised to 16 or 17 years and 
in a few cases to 18. This implies that girls under this age 
are not considered fully accountable for their acts, and are 
victims, in part at least, of unfavorable external conditions. 
Would 18 years then represent a proper age limit to be es- 
tablished in our age of consent laws? ]^Iany girls who be- 
come mothers of illegitimate children are morons and mental- 
ly and morally unable to decide problems wisely for them- 
selves. They will never arrive at the point of mature judg- 
ment and should, therefore, be protected. A scientific age of 
consent law^ must consider mental as well as physiological 
age. A definite age limit without qualifications for the men- 
tally subnormal leaves the immature girl at the mercy of un- 
scrupulous men. 

It is also unfair to throw full responsibility on a girl who 
lacks legal and industrial power and capacity. A female be- 
comes of age at 18 and until that time cannot expect to possess 
the earning power of an adult woman wage earner. In the 
eyes of the law she is an "infant." Is it fair to make her en- 
tirely accountable for her moral actions when her rights are 
otherwise so limited? Is it not true that the discrimination 
which compels a girl to carry full moral responsibility for 
one of the most serious of human acts but holds her mental- 
ly incapable of mature judgment in regard to other matter 
lacks scientific basis and indicates the influence of prejudicial 
conditions? 

A very important consideration is the social consequences 
dependent on the varying age limits. What age limit will 
best serve the interests of society? The suffering of womerL 



138 University of Missouri Studies 

and the ills of children must be reduced and the morals of all — 
both men and women — be improved. The aggressors must 
be checked, be they men or women, and the welfare of any 
individual be subordinated to that of society. Yet, if possible, 
the good of the individual should be made to harmonize with 
the good of all. At what age does the protection of the girl 
cease to be a virtue and become a menace? At what age 
vvould the normal young woman freed from moral responsi- 
bility for sex irregularity tend to break down standards of 
conduct and promote unwholesome living? 

Finally, the present administration of our bastardy laws 
is so unjust to women that compensatory legislation is well 
worth considering. Only a small proportion of men incur 
any financial obligation as fathers of illegitimate children, 
and the few who do are not usually required to carry a very 
heavy burden. In fact, the cost of sex irregularity is paid for 
almost entirely by the women involved. So long as full re- 
sponsibility is not or cannot be enforced against fathers, so 
long it is necessary to deal leniently with females who are 
still under age. 

On the other hand moral responsibility must not be 
limited to the male sex. Otherwise young women will grad- 
ually lose their high ideals and begin to tempt their less reso- 
lute male associates. Unless they are compelled to bear part 
of the burden many women will lapse in morality and become 
a bane to the community. Probably no one will deny that a 
normally minded mature woman should be required to share 
the responsibility of her missteps. Nevertheless, it should not 
be forgotten that in all cases, woman bears the greater pro- 
portion of suffering and sorrow. Although the blame may 
be equally divided between the man and the woman, the suf- 
fering is not similarly equalized. Consequently, the imma- 
ture female must be favored in order to give her justice. 

The author believes that if ideal conditions existed as to 
sex instruction, protection of weak-minded women and girls 
and actual responsibility of fathers for their illegitimate chil- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 139 

dren that the unqualified age of consent might be justly fixed 
at sixteen years. Any age lower than this is patently unfair 
and so disregardful of the immaturity of the girls that it can- 
not receive serious support. 

When a proper plan of sex instruction is carried out every 
normal girl of sixteen will have been so thoroughly enlight- 
ened in regard to sex life, moral ideals and the consequences 
of immorality that the responsibility for sin may well be 
shared by her. This standard, however, is too low unless 
the girl is normally minded ; that is, of average intelligence 
and without any traces of weakmindedness. 

No girl or woman of any age should be forced to suffer 
the full consequences of a moral lapse if she is so immature 
mentally that she is incapable of ordinary prudence and dis- 
cretion. Courts are now beginning to excuse offenses com- 
mitted by feeble-minded persons and to demand their segre- 
gation in proper institutions. Should not the feeble-minded 
when they are victims of a crime receive at least equal con- 
sideration? 

An unqualified age of consent should be fixed at sixteen 
years and the years from sixteen to eighteen should consti- 
tute a period in which girls of this age would be amply pro- 
tected if previously moral or of low mentality; that is there 
should be a conditional age of consent fixed at eighteen. 
Whether the prevailing ignorance of girls relative to sex mat- 
ters justifies the establishment at present of the unqualified 
age of consent at eighteen is a serious question. The enforce- 
ment of high ideals on men is a culmination most earnestly 
desired but responsibility must also be developed in young 
women and efforts be made to reduce injustice to a minimum. 

Evolution of Legislation 

Age of consent, as has been stated, is a part of the law 
against rape. The seriousness of this crime has powerfully 
affected the establishment of age limits. At one time Eng- 
lish law considered rape as trespass and the penalty was 



140 University of Missouri Studies 

slight. William the Conquerer, however, mixed barbarism 
with eugenics by punishing the crime with destruction of 
eyesight and castration. Gradually the Elizabethan law re- 
lating to age of consent became unsatisfactory and in the 
reign of George IV a law was passed providing that the car- 
nal knowledge of a girl under ten was a felony without bene- 
fit of clergy and of a girl between ten and twelve was a mis- 
demeanor, punishable by imprisonment and hard labor. This 
law accordingly raised the age of consent two years from the 
level formerly established. 

Increased agitation for further reform resulted in the 
law of 1881 whereby carnal knowledge of a female between 
ten and twelve years of age was made punishable with penal 
servitude for three years, or imprisonment at hard labor for 
two. This advance also proved insufficient and in 1885 the 
law was amended by making the crime a felony in case the 
girl was less than thirteen years of age and a "criminal of- 
fense" punishable with two years' imprisonment if she was 
between thirteen and sixteen years, even if she consents or 
solicits. According to this law the age of consent is fixed at 
sixteen years, but severity of punishment is made to depend 
on the age of the child. This constitutes the English law on 
the subject at the present time. 

The British colonies have also been compelled to cope 
with the problem. Beginning with the age limit fixed at ten 
years, they have gradually raised it to sixteen or seventeen. 
In several Australian states the fixing of the limit at seven- 
teen years is by many credited to the new influence of woman 
suffrage, which was obtained before the laws were amended. 
There can be no doubt that the political power of the women 
was a factor in the campaign. 

Laws in the United States 

In the United States one of the handicaps to progressive 
legislation consists in the right of each state to make its own 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 141 

laws on the subject. Consequently 48 states are governed 
by 48 different laws. Beginning as most of them did with the 
age limit fixed at 10 years, they began to demand reform 
about 1885 and thereafter. For a period of ten years many 
states enacted improved legislation and in 1895, nineteen 
states had imposed an age limit of fourteen years and in 
twelve states the age had been raised to sixteen. In many 
states, reform has been gradual and several chang-es in the 
law have been made ; for example, Illinois raised the age 
from 10 to 14 in 1897, and then increased it to 16 in 1905 ; 
Colorado raised the age, first to 16, and in 1895 to 18, being the 
first state to adopt this high age limit. In California the 
successive laws made the age of consent 10, 14, 16, and 18 
years respectively. 

When the absurdity of the ten-year limit daw^ned on our 
various states, the change to 14 years was made with com- 
paratively little difificulty. The more serious problem has 
consisted in lifting the age above this new level. Legislators 
have claimed that g'irls of 15 and upward were fully compe- 
tent to care for themselves, to assume the responsibilities for 
sex irregularity and have the needed knowledge to protect 
themselves if they wish to do so. Probably no campaign for 
reform illustrates the deep-seated antagonism to placing 
greater responsibility on men than that carried on in Colo- 
rado to raise the age limits from 16 to 18. This was fought 
bitterly by the protagonists of vice and was likewise opposed 
by many good and well-meaning men. "The girl of 18," said 
they, "has ample knowledge of sex problems and sex facts, 
much more than girls of 14 or 16. Why penalize young men 
for the lax morals of young women? Let the latter bear their 
own burdens ; the fault is theirs if they consent." Behind 
this form of argument and philosophy was the veiled wish to 
prevent interference with the annual crop of deceived, gulli- 
ble and weak-minded girls who meet the wishes of immoral 
and designing men. The sincere opposition to this law based 
its arguments on the reputed maturity of the girl of eighteen. 



142 University of Missouri Studies 

But no juvenile delinquency laws had as yet been enacted 
and the age that constitutes a reasonable dividing line had 
not been given sufficient consideration. Our more enlightened 
present attitude toward juvenile delinquency greatly facili- 
tates the enactment of improved age of consent laws. 

In several states legislation has taken the direction of 
establishing an absolute age limit and also a qualified one. 
The Missouri and Nebraska laws are examples of this princi- 
ple. Both fix the age limit at fifteen years, but provide furth- 
er that the law shall apply to females between fifteen and 
eighteen years of age, provided they previously bore a chaste 
character. Unfortunately court procedure is such that this 
clause practically shifts the burden of proof to the injured 
girl and makes the successful outcome of charges made by 
the older girls a comparatively remote contingency. Too 
many young men are ready to assist in besmirching the char- 
acter of a girl, especially if it tends to remove the barriers to 
continued licentiousness on their part. Occasional cases are 
successful, however, and the Supreme Court of Nebraska 
has upheld the validity of the law in the case of a girl who was 
sixteen years of age. This type of law should be strengthen- 
ed to insure the protection of the backward, retarded or ig- 
norant girls, precisely the ones most in need of the shelter 
of the law. Furthermore, socially-minded court officials are 
needed to enforce the law and to make men bear their share 
of the burden. Failure of the courts to give justice is largely 
responsible for the rapid movement in the direction of fixing 
the age limit at eighteen. Since 1900 many states have 
amended their laws and when once a new age limit has been 
fixed it has not been lowered. 

The situation in 1919 in the various states in regard to 
age of consent laws is given in the following table. The term 
''qualified" is used to designate conditions which require that 
the female be of previous chaste character.^* 

"**Table based on figures compiled by the American Social Hygiene 
Association. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 143 



AGE OF CONSENT NUMBER OF STATES 

AND TERRITORIES* 

10 qualified 18 1 

12 i 

12 qualified 18 1. 

12 qualified 21 1 

14 3 

15 3 

15 qualified 18 3 

16 20 
16 qualified 18 1 
18 14 
18 qualified 21 1 
.... qualified 18 1 

*Including Alaska and District of Columbia. 

These figures show that only seven states have a limit 
of fourteen years or less ; of the remainder tvv^enty have fixed 
the age of consent at sixteen, while fourteen have adopted an 
eighteen year limit. Mississippi retains the twelve year limit 
but several of the southern states have fixed the age at 
eighteen. In two states if the woman was previously chaste 
the law applies until she is twenty-one. In a number of in- 
stances the higher age limits are largely due to the demands 
made by women in equal suffrage states, but in other states 
they were obtained without this advantage. 

Age of consent laws frequently fix an age of culpability 
for the male. Where no ag-e is specified the age of discre- 
tion is held to be fourteen, unless the juvenile delinquency 
law interferes to mitigate the offense. In some states the 
law fixes the age for males at 16 or 17 and any male of this 
age or upwards who has carnal knowledge of a female of a 
certain age or less, with or without her consent, is guilty of a 
crime. The fixing of such a limit for males is just and corres- 
ponds to our policies' in connection with the treatment of 
juvenile delinquency. No doubt the young boy is frequently 
deceived in part and should not be held to full accountability 
for offenses committed. This principle, however, must not 



144 University of Missouri Studies 

prevent him from being brought into the juvenile court for 
trial and appropriate disposition or punishment ; and if the 
victims are very young girls severe punishment must be in- 
flicted. 

A final feature of our lav^s relates to the grading of pun- 
ishment according to the age of the female. In at least nine 
states, the male is punished more severely if the female is be- 
low a certain age. For example, in Minnesota three grades 
of punishment are provided for. The harshest applies in 
case the girl is under 10 ; a milder punishment is inflicted if 
she is between 10 and 14 ; while the lightest penalty is im- 
posed if she is over 14. Usually, however, only two different 
penalties are legalized, and the age limit which distinguishes 
them is fixed at 12 or 14. 

It would be well for the social workers interested directly 
in the reduction of illegitimacy to give more attention than 
heretofore to age of consent laws and their enforcement. 
Properly enforced these laws should greatly check the pre- 
valence of immorality. So far, however, they have accom- 
plished but little. The juvenile court records show that a 
large proportion of the delinquent girls brought into the 
courts are sexually immoral and that many of them are un- 
der the age of consent. Again we have seen that a remark- 
able proportion of the unmarried mothers are less than 
eighteen, with the probability that their sex experiences be- 
gan a considerable length of time before this age. If every 
state would raise the age of consent to the socially desirable 
point and enforce the law, the promiscuous sex relations now 
prevailing among young delinquents would become a very 
serious matter and the males especially would exercise more 
caution. While our laws punish offenders against little girls, 
they do but little to safeguard the adolescent girls whose 
knowledge is widening but who are still too ignorant to under- 
stand the full meaning of an immoral act. A well enforced 
law would offer considerable protection and would prove a de- 
terrent factor of no mean importance. 



CHAPTER VII 

LEGISLATIVE REFORM 

We have reached a turning point in the history of legis- 
lation concerning illegitimacy. The people are becoming 
restless under the ineffective laws of the past. They are un- 
willing to trifle with the problem and are beginning to de- 
mand a legislative program that will accomplish results. 
However, our unity of action stops at this point. The var- 
ious state programs differ widely from each other. Further- 
more, the underlying principles are not the same. As far as 
they affect the children directly, these principles deal with 
the relation to the status of illegitimacy. A growing number 
of individuals feel that there is no social justification whatso- 
ever in the laws that penalize children who can under no con- 
ditions be responsible for their illegitimacy. They believe 
that the better treatment of such children as well as a marked 
diminution in the number of children born out of lawful wed- 
lock will follow the abolition of the status of illegitimacy. 
Another group would punish more severely than ever before 
the offending parents, but not remove the legal handicaps of 
the child. In fact, if bastardy is made a crime it is hardly 
possible at the same time to consider the child as legal off- 
spring entitled to all the privileges of a legitimate child. On 
the other hand, if illegitimacy does not exist, what is now 
bastardy cannot be declared a crime. Each point of view 
will carry v/ith it a properly co-ordinated chain of laws, both 
aiming at drastic consequences. Certain legislation, however, 
will be similar no matter what the point of view. It is diffi- 
cult to believe that such divergence will continue. It seems 
that in the long run we must relieve the illegitimate child 
of all his disabilities and give him a start in life equal to that 
of the child born in lawful wedlock. An aggressive program 

(145) 



146 University of Missouri Studies 

applied to the parents and a comprehensive plan of prevention 
should reduce to a minimum the number of extra-conjugal 
births and ameliorate the lot of these children. 

Registration of Births 

The registration of births represents a most important 
step in a program of child w^elfare and within the last few 
years many states have enacted laws providing for such regis- 
tration. A model law requires the birth certificate to contain 
the following information : 

I. Place of birth of child, its name, sex and legitimacy, 
also whether it is a single or plural birth. 

II. The full name, residence, color or race, birthplace, 
age and occupation of the father. 

III. The maiden name, residence, color or race, birth- 
place, age and occupation of the mother. 

IV. Number of child of mother and number of children 
of mother living. 

V. Whether or not child is born at full term. 

In some states certain facts relating to illegitimate births 
are suppressed or at least prevented from appearing on the 
birth certificates. Missouri is an example, and carefully for- 
bids the recording of any information about the putative 
father. When the law was first enacted many of the certi- 
ficates filed did contain such information. They usually in- 
cluded his name, probable address, occupation, and sometimes 
his age. Gradually, the registration of births was handled 
with increasing effectiveness, and as a result the provision pro- 
hibiting the recording of facts about the putative father was 
enforced. If birth certificates now contain this information 
they are promptly returned to the physicians or persons who 
filled them out with instructions to obey the law. There is 
now a complete suppression of any facts that the mother 
may be able to give about the man whom she claims is the 
father of her child. What is true of Missouri also holds for 
various other states. In most states the common law mar- 



Children Born Out of A\'edlock 147 

riage is considered valid, and as these marriages are not very 
stable, many births occurring to parents who had contracted 
such a marriage are classified as illegitimate and the side of 
the birth certificate where questions about fathers are to be 
answered is left blank. It must not be forgotten in this con- 
nection that when the birth certificate is made out there often 
is no official information about the paternity of the child and 
any statement made may be the unsupported testimony of 
the mother. In some states the information given by her 
about the putative father is recorded on the birth certificate 
and filed. This is done quite apart from the official determin- 
ation of the paternity. Sometimes, therefore, innocent men 
may be subjected to calumny and shame. On the other hand, 
whenever legal procedure has been followed and paternity 
determined, the information concerning the father is quite as 
valid as that for the mother. 

Another variation in recording information about illegit- 
imate births is that furnished by the ordinances of the city of 
Chicago. According to these any patient in a maternity 
home may file her name and address and that of the father 
of the prospective child and certain additional facts, all of 
which shall be kept in a secret record to which no person ex- 
cept officials and employes of the Department of Health have 
access unless by order of a court of competent jurisdiction. 

This system, unfortunately, is practically useless and 
the number of such records is amazingly small. The city of 
Chicago has no adequate records of the prevalence of illegiti- 
macy within its bounds and this law, perhaps, operates as one 
of the agencies to prevent the compilation of this much needed 
information. 

In the District of Columbia, illegitimate births have been 
registered since 1907. One provision of the law makes it 
optional for the physician or midwife, in case the baby born 
is illegitimate, to include on the birth certificate any facts 
that might lead to the identity of father, mother or child. Ac- 



148 University of Missouri Studies 

cordingly, in about one-fourth of the cases, the information 
gained is just as limited as the law allows. 

The different types of laws as given above represent 
various grades of endeavor to conceal official information in 
respect to illegitimacy. If concealment safeguarded public 
and private morals and protected the child then such a pro- 
cedure would be justified, but the example of the past, when 
mothers could give away their babies and go away undetect- 
ed, is a sufficient answer to this blundering policy. The offi- 
cial recognition of facts which few people peruse directly 
differs widely from newspaper notice. The two must not be 
confused with each other. It does not follow that because the 
latter is undesirable that the former is also. 

There must be adequate birth registration. We need to 
know how many children are born out of lawful wedlock, and 
as many facts about their fathers and mothers as will be nec- 
essary to a proper understanding of the problem. We can- 
not forego the statistical information even though the status 
of illegitimacy be abolished, for the abnormal condition still 
remains. Nevertheless, some thinkers believe that in addi- 
tion to the concealment of the facts about the father, the 
mother's identity should also be hidden. For example, a well- 
known social worker says, "It should be made lawful for the 
expectant mother to assume a fictitious name for the purpose 
of registration and report, (as Mrs. Mary Smith; Mrs. Alice 
Brown, etc.), in order not to expose her identity; provided 
that the same name shall be used as long as she is a subject 
of public record and shall not be changed except to resume 
her own name."^^ This writer recognizes the need of informa- 
tion about the mother ; but he would conceal her identity, as 
has been done for example in many cases in Washington, D. 
C. Certain difficulties arise in this connection and it is doubt- 
ful whether the birth record can become a reliable source of 

''The Child— August, 1912. p. 31. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 149 

information about the age of children, their identity, rela- 
tionships, and other important conditions. 

There will probably come a time when exact facts as to 
a child's age and identity are necessary. It will be difficult, 
if not impossible, to secure these if incorrect names are given 
on the birth records, even though some key to the right 
names be used and kept under strict surveillance. Again, the 
mother cannot hide the fact of illegitimacy and its conceal- 
ment on the birth record would be of little service to her. 

Another plan contemplates recording all known facts, 
that is the information about the mother and also about the 
father if the paternity has been legally established. Many 
persons believe in the Minnesota plan whereby the name of 
father is omitted until the paternity of the child has been 
established; whereupon a record of the fact is transmitted 
by the courts to the state registrar of vital statistics and the 
information then added to the birth certificate. Unless order- 
ed to do so by a court of record, no person connected with the 
official birth registration may disclose to any person whether 
any particular child is legitimate or not. Provision is made 
by the laAv for a public record of births open to general in- 
spection. This record gives the name, sex, color and date 
of birth of the child, its birth-place and the name and age of 
the mother. It is this record which is to be used when facts 
about the child are necessary for the enforcement of the com- 
pulsory attendance or child labor laws. 

This plan, however, is not by itself a sufficient remedy 
for the situation. Every child should, if possible, be gifted 
with an official father. Unless such a law is supplemented 
with an effective board of guardianship that attempts to dis- 
cover the paternity of every illegitimate child as far as evi- 
dence can be obtained an injustice is done both to the moth- 
er and to the child. 

The public need not always know about particular men 
or women but it must be informed about the extent and tend- 
ency of illegitimacy and its causes, for without such informa- 



150 University of Missouri Studies 

tion it will not formulate an adequate program of reform or 
prevention. 

Supervision of Maternity Homes 

Drastic legislation is needed to control maternity homes 
and baby farms. Appropriate laws must be enacted to gov- 
ern such practical activities as receiving, caring for and treat- 
ing pregnant women; receiving and boarding children under 
three years of age ; receiving illegitimate children, and hav- 
ing in custody or control two or more infants under three 
years of age unattended by parents or guardians. The Indi- 
ana law is an excellent one; among its provisions are the 
following: 

Maternity hospitals and boarding houses for infants 
must operate according to rules established by the Board of 
State Charities. 

The State Board may grant licenses to institutions 
that meet the requirements, and licenses must be renewed 
annually. 

Each institution must keep adequate records and these 
records must be accessible to the delegated authorities. 

In the case of women admitted to a hospital, prompt re- 
ports must be made to the board of charities. When births 
occur similar reports are necessary. If balbies are brought 
for adoption, for placing out, or for other methods of disposi- 
tion, proper records of the facts must be transmitted to the 
State Board. 

Unless authorized by the State Board no person other 
than the judge of a court shall place a child under three 
years of age for adoption or permanent care with any per- 
son other than a relative of the child. A provision of this 
kind according to which the placing of a child is super- 
vised by a public board is most necessary to safeguard the 
life and health of the babies. 

Licenses may be revoked if considered advisable. 

The confinement expenses of the mother of an illegiti- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 151 

mate child, unless paid within four months after such con- 
finement, may be charged against the county in which the 
woman had legal settlement and illegitimate children may 
be taken with their mother to the county where the mother 
had legal settlement. Women from without the state who 
become public charges may be removed with their illegitimate 
children to their place of residence in the state from which 
they came. 

In some respects the Massachusetts law is even more 
drastic. It provides that a person who gives to any person 
an infant under two years of age for the purpose of placing 
it for gain or reward under the permanent control of another 
person is guilty of a crime and whoever receives an infant 
for gain or reward with such purpose is also criminally lia- 
ble. It also requires any person receiving an infant under 
three years of age for board or for the purpose of procuring 
adoption to ascertain whether it is illegitimate and, if that 
is probable, to notify the state board of charity at once. Such 
an infant is in the custody of the board. 

On the other hand, the law allows the mother of an il- 
legitimate child under two years, if of previously good char- 
acter and a resident of the state, to surrender her child to the 
state board of charity for adoption. The mother thereby 
gives up all claims to the child. 

Wherever laws controlling maternity homes or hospitals 
and baby farms or boarding homes for children have been en- 
acted, most deplorable conditions have been revealed and on 
enforcement of the law good results have been obtained. 
Indiana and Massachusetts have both been conspicuously suc- 
cessful in abating these persistent evils. Private maternity 
homes of the low-grade commercial variety have been practi- 
cally driven out of existence and the nurherous centers where 
babies were neglected and died have been forced to discon- 
tinue their work. The evidence given in a previous chapter 
as to conditions in several cities shows the importance of 
proper legislation to lessen this abuse. Among the most 



152 University of Missouri Studies 

beneficent results will be care and attention to the illegiti- 
mate child and to some extent a diminution in the amount of 
illicit parentage, but the consequences in a lowered infant 
mortality, the prevention of neglect and the securing of good 
homes for the children are alone well worth the effort. 

Bastardy Laws 

An important feature of our laws relates to proceedings 
for bastardy. In forty of the states so-called bastardy laAvs 
or laws providing for paternal support of illegitimate chil- 
dren have been enacted. ^^ The remainder have no laws and 
the unmarried mother has no recourse to law and cannot 
compel the father of her child to contribute the slightest 
amount toward the support of her child. Two points of view 
have been held in regard to such proceedings. Sigmund En- 
gel speaks of these as the Teutonic and the Latin, but it is 
somewhat harsh to distinguish them so sharply by these 
terms. The Latin idea prohibits inquiry into paternity of an 
illegitimate child. The impetus to this method of dealing 
with illegitimacy was given by the Napoleonic Code. This 
distinctly interdicted inquiry into the paternity of a child and 
thereby placed the entire burden of support on the mother 
or the public. The Napoleonic Code was carried to a large 
part of Europe and became fundamental law in many states 
and countries. In Italy the law took the extreme position 
that not even the mother was compelled to recognize her 
child. In some respects this situation is not perceptibly 
worse than that portrayed in the law of the District of Co- 
lumbia, as was shown above. The French law spread to the 
Latin countries and also invaded the nations of Teutonic 
blood. Nevertheless, its main strength has been in the Latin 
countries ; and elsewhere it has been largely superseded. 



°®A thorough analysis of bastardy laws in the United States is 
given in the report of the Federal Children's Bureau entitled "Illegiti- 
macy Laws of the United States and Certain Foreign Countries." 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 153 

On the other hand, in England, Germany and Scandina- 
via, considerable advance has been made along opposite lines ; 
that is, in efforts to develop plans for a more successful in- 
quiry into paternity and to enforce paternal support. This 
point of view is gaining ground everywhere and promises to 
overthrow the prohibition contained in the Napoleonic Code. 
The fact that every child has a father is slowly being supple- 
mented by the principle that every child, as far as possible, 
must have an official father. Accordingly the facts about 
paternity must be determined, officially recorded and responsi- 
bility placed on fathers. France amended the Code Napoleon 
in 1912 and now allows limited inquiry into paternity. 

The bastardy laws of the American states bear many 
points of resemblance but differ from each other in minor 
particulars. A few states, however, have laws based on quite 
different principles. The following cursory analysis of these 
laws is intended largely to acquaint the reader with the gen- 
eral scope and purpose of such laws and is not in any sense 
a digest of these various state laws. 

To begin with, bastardy is in almost all instances subject 
to civil rather than to criminal action. In very few states is 
the father a misdemeanant, and dealt with as a criminal. 
Massachusetts, Maryland and Pennsylvania, however, do 
classify the offense as a crime and, therefore, make it possi- 
ble to follow the criminal procedure. In the majority of cases 
the rules followed are those of the civil courts although in 
many states the method used is classified as quasi-criminal. 
Some laws definitely state that cases shall be handled in ac- 
cordance with the practice and procedure applicable to civil 
cases and that the rules of evidence and the competency of 
witnesses shall be the same. The purpose of action in all of 
these cases is to secure protection and support for the child, 
and to prevent him from becoming a public charge, but not 
to punish the fathers. This purpose is essentially emphasized 
by the fact that the law usually applies only when the baby 
is born alive and that judgment is rendered in favor of the 



154 University of Missouri Studies 

child. In case of a still birth or death soon after birth, the 
charge is dropped and the defendant dismissed, in spite of 
the fact that the mother may have incurred a large expense 
at the time of her confinement. The law is interested in the 
care of the child and not in the burden that has been placed 
on the mother. It does not consider that the man involved 
is at least a contributory factor and ought to share the cost 
of his folly or immorality. 

There is some variety in the method of bringing suits. 
In many of the states the woman must make the complaint 
to the justice of the peace or judge of the court having juris- 
diction and institute the prosecution against the person whom 
she charges with being the father of her child. She must in 
these cases secure her own counsel to prosecute her case and 
is subjct to practically the same rules that cover other civil 
suits. This restriction implies that the law considers pro- 
ceedings for bastardy as a mere private action and as a case 
in which the state is interested only as it is in other private 
actions. On the other hand, in many states after complaint 
is made by the woman the case is handled by the prosecuting 
attorney. Here the procedure resembles that of the criminal 
courts, and the state becomes an interested party. In theory 
this method of procedure enlists the co-operation of the state 
in the establishment of the identity of the putative father and 
in securing paternal support for the child. In Kentucky the 
law goes so far as to prohibit the mother from dismissing the 
prosecution after the court has once acquired jurisdiction of 
the case. In Iowa the prosecution may be instituted by "any 
person," but the public attorney is authorized to proceed with 
the case. It should be a considerable advantage to make the 
state a party to the case. In fact, the tendency of bastardy 
legislation is distinctly in jthe direction of the viewpoint that 
illegitimacy is a problem of public concern. In some of the 
states, especially those with well developed poor laws, cases 
involving the public support of the mother and her child may 
be prosecuted by the overseers of the poor. Charitable sup- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 155 

port is not extended to any except those without means, and 
since the father has an obligation to the child, the "poor" offi- 
cials may use such means as lie within their power to gain 
private support for the child. Therefore, when an unmarried 
mother asks for aid, they may at once apply to the court for 
an inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the case and 
bastardy proceedings may be instituted quite apart from the 
voluntary action of the woman herself. 

Practice in regard to charging the cost of the suit is not 
uniform. Wherever the procedure is distinctly civil, the pros- 
ecutrix bears the cost if she loses the suit. Some of the laws 
state that under these conditions the charge lies against her. 
It may be the custom to pay the costs even though the case 
be handled by the prosecuting attorney, but where this meth- 
od is followed the cost is lower than where private counsel 
is employed. When the overseers of the poor prosecute a 
case, no charges can be imposed on the woman, as she is with- 
out the means to pay them. When criminal proceedings are 
instituted the burden rests on the state. In some cases, even 
under civil action, the costs have been divided between the 
complainant and the defendant, and if the woman wins the 
suit the costs are charged agaist the man. As a general prin- 
ciple the cost of prosecution, even though she loses, should 
not fall on the woman, except in those comparatively rare 
cases when some malicious or vexatious charge has been 
made. 

When a case is tried the woman is admitted as a witness 
unless she has been disqualified for particular reasons. Or- 
dinarily, it is difficult to prove the charge on direct evidence; 
hence, reliance is placed almost entirely on circumstantial 
evidence and it is not usually required to prove guilt beyond 
a reasonable doubt. 

One of the most unsatisfactory phases of the enforcement 
of our bastardy laws is the amount of compensation allowed 
for the support of the child. When marriage takes place, this 
act serves as a bar to prosecution and the father is expected 



156 University of Missouri Studies 

to support his family. Should he desert or fail to support his 
wife and child, proceedings must be brought under the family 
desertion and non-support laws of the state. Sometimes, in 
lieu of marriage or because the man is ineligible for marriage 
to the woman, a compromise is effected out of court. Usual- 
ly, the woman does not know her rights and is cajoled into 
a settlement which is most disadvantageous and unjust to 
her. On the other hand, the intelligent woman frequently 
succeeds in a more agreeable settlement than would be ac- 
complished through the courts. Eight cases of settlement 
out of court, according to the Boston Conference on Illegiti- 
macy, ranged in amount of money paid from $50 to $500 and 
averaged $228 each. Girls are often persuaded to settle the 
cases out of court. Such action is frequently urged by the 
lawyers, if the man would otherwise compromise or disgrace 
his family; by public officials in many cities, and often by 
philanthropic societies working on a case. In certain cities 
the courts now restrict cash settlements or interfere with 
them and demand better terms for the mothers. 

The law may require the putative father to assist in the 
maintenance of the child until it has reached a certain age; 
or to pay a certain sum of money outright ; or to assist in 
such manner and to such an extent as the court may order. 
The age, when one is specified, is usually fourteen or sixteen. 
When none is stated judges occasionally require partial main- 
tenance until the child, if a boy, has reached the age of 21, 
or if a girl, the age of 18. The Massachusetts law makes this 
requirement. Usually, however, the age when a child may 
enter the gainful occupations is the limit fixed by the judges. 
Among the states specifying the maximum compensation to 
be allowed the mother for caring for the child is South Dako- 
ta, which allows a payment of $250 for the first year and $150 
annually for ten years thereafter, or a maximum of $1750. 
Many states do not fix the amount but leave this to the discre- 
tion of the judge, so that the maximum may be much higher. 
Actual practice, however, in the determination of awards in- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 157 

dicates a remarkable lenity on the part of judges and officials 
and law-makers. In the case of eight court settlements in 
Boston, three were for $150 each or less; three uncertain as 
to aggregate amount, and two for large sums aggregating 
about $2,500 each. The Illinois law allows the judge to re- 
quire the putative father to pay $100 for the first year of the 
child's life and $50 for the next nine years, or a total of $550. 
The study made by the Chicago Juvenile Protective Associ- 
ation of 163 cases handled in that city shows that in only 17 
cases was the maximum payment ordered by the judge and 
in four of these the man eluded the payment. Some states 
empower the overseers of the poor to effect a compromise 
with the putative father in case the woman has been forced to 
accept public support. Usually little attention is paid to the 
problem of permanent support of the child and as a conse- 
quence the fathers are not required to make payments com- 
mensurate with obligation that rests on them. The grow- 
ing practice of concentrating cases of a special variety in a 
single court operates favorably in the large cities toward a 
greater approximation to justice. Gradually more nearly 
adequate compensation will be required by the courts. 

The defendant after complaint has been made is usually 
required to give bond and in many states the trial is delayed 
until after the child is born. Then if he is declared the puta- 
tive father, and charged with the maintenance of the child, 
he is expected and in some cases required to furnish surety 
for the payment of the money. If he is penniless and unable 
to contribute he may be sent to the county jail or workhouse 
and if he refuses payment, he will be compelled to undergo 
the same penalty. 

In several cities the administration of bastardy laws has 
been placed in the hands of domestic relations courts. Al- 
ready these courts have been established in many of the large 
cities either according to the mandate of state law or the 
action of the municipal court judges in designating one of the 
various courts of the city, as a particular branch to which all 



158 University of Missouri Studies 

cases involving family and domestic relationships, as far as 
these courts have jurisdiction, v^ill be referred. Valuable re- 
sults have been obtained in Chicago. The Chicago court em- 
ploys an investigator who studies cases and reports findings 
and frequently advises girls about homes and places for con- 
finement. In three years, 1912-13-14, the number of cases 
appearing before the court rose from slightly more than 411 
to 720. Even this number represents not more than one- 
fourth of all the cases of illegitimacy annually occurring in 
Chicago. In practically one-third of the court cases a mar- 
riage is arranged and in a large proportion the putative father 
is designated and a certain amount of maintenance exacted 
of him. Some supervision is also exercised over the col- 
lection of money for the woman, as in many cases the man 
evades his duty if it is at all possible. The records of the 
court indicate increasingly satisfactory dispositions of cases. 

The city of Buffalo furnishes a good example of co-oper- 
ation between the court and the other public agencies. In 
New York an illegitimate child is a public charge and the 
officials can proceed at once with the case. In Buffalo appli- 
cations for care come to the Commissioner of Charities and 
Corrections. Many of the cases are handled directly, and 
about one-third are brought into the Court of Domestic re- 
lations. No attempt is made to try cases that are very doubt- 
ful or likely to be lost. When the action is successful the 
defendant is required to pay $40 for the lying-in expenses 
of the woman and $3.00 per week for the care of the child as 
long it is provided with public care. Usually he must give sure- 
ty for the payment of about $500, and if he fails he receives a 
jail sentence. By co-operating with the court, the public 
department of charities carries much of the social service 
work which must be done for the mothers and babies. 

Bastardy is not an extraditable offense except in states 
where it is a crime and therefore if the putative father escapes 
to some other state no proceedings can be brought against 
him and the mother can obtain no redress whatsoever. Men 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 159 

frequently choose this alternative to a forced marriage or an 
order for regular support of the child. Minnesota has finally 
made legal provision to cover this situation. The new law 
makes it a felony for the father to abscond from the state 
to evade proceedings to establish his paternity is some par- 
ticular case. The man can therefore be extradited and the 
bastardy law evoked. The extraditable offense, however, is 
not bastardy but the attempt to evade the operations of the 
law. 

In Pennsylvania bastardy has for many years been classi- 
fied as a criminal offense of the grade of misdemeanor. It 
follows from this fact that proceedings can be brought against 
a man as soon as information justifying action is received. 
The state can take the initiative and push the case to a con- 
clusion. Until recently, however, public opinion has not given 
the law greater vitality than the laws of other states. With- 
in a comparatively short time attempts have been made, es- 
pecially in Philadelphia, to concentrate bastardy cases into 
one court and to handle them very much in the same way as 
juvenile court cases are handled ; that is, by preliminary 
social investigation of the case, the avoidance, as far as possi- 
ble, of a public hearing which would require the woman to 
rehearse nauseous details before a group of men, by settle- 
ment out of court, and by safeguarding the payment of com- 
pensation to the woman. The use of the probation officer 
as an agent to bring about the rehabilitation of the woman 
and acknowledgment of responsibility in the man is a long 
step in the direction of successful work. 

The work now accomplished in Philadelphia deserves 
particular mention. All cases of bastardy are referred to the 
Criminal Division of the Municipal Court for trial. Arrests 
are made quietly, the preliminary hearings are private and the 
interests of both the man and the woman are protected. 
When a case is listed for the court, a summary of the facts 
is presented to the district attorney, the witnesses are sum- 
moned and the probation officers carefully watch the pro- 



160 University of Missouri Studies 

ceedings. Prosecution must begin before the child is fifteen 
months old. In actual practice the proceedings are in the 
larger share of cases instituted at the birth of the child, or 
during the period immediately preceding or following this 
event. In 1915 the court dealt v^ith 640 cases and disposed 
of 333. Weekly court orders were made in 169 cases and the 
men involved ordered to pay sums ranging from one to three 
dollars, and averaging $1.77, per week, for a period of four- 
teen years. In about one-fourth of the cases confinement ex- 
penses were also assessed, and in ten instances the compensa- 
tion was limited to such expenses. Cash settlements were 
verified in 25 cases, the compensation ranging from $75 to 
$750, and averaging $222. In 53 cases marriages were effect- 
ed. Many of the men, however, failed to pay regularly and 
dunng the year more than 100 cases were transferred to the 
domestic relations division of the court where they were 
placed on probation and efiforts were made to enforce the or- 
ders. The Municipal Court also collects valuable data about 
each case of illegitimacy, partly that a constructive program 
may be more easily realized and partly in order to throw 
light on the causes and conditions underlying the evil. In 
Philadelphia the feeling is gradually beginning to prevail 
that bastardy cases are to be solved to the advantage of all 
as far as possible, and are not to be a mere football for law- 
yers. As a result the efficiency of the probation and investi- 
gating officers has been greatly increased. 

In 1913, Massachusetts enacted a new law providing for 
the care of illegitimate children, and also made bastardy a 
crime. Under this law the putative father may be compelled 
to pay for the confinement expenses of the mother and to 
make such payments as may be considered expedient for the 
care and welfare of the child. The judge may from time to time 
alter the maintenance order as the exigencies of the case may 
require, the man being liable to contribute reasonably to the 
support of the child during its minority. Furthermore, the 
family desertion law is made to apply and, in case of neglect. 



Chilzrzx Bcrx Out of Wedlock 161 

the man can be brought to justice under this law as v. el!. He 
can be con^-icted and fined or imprisoned, or both, and can 
also be placed on probation subject to orders to pay stated 
sums of money to the probation officer. 

By making bastardy a crime Massachusetts can now 
demand the extradition of men who escape from the state. A 
larger number can, therefore, be apprehended and tried, but 
conviction will also be more difficult because convincing evi- 
dence must be introduced. The case can now be tried when 
the mother is six months pregnant instead of being delayed 
until the child is born as is the practice with some exceptions 
in the various states. 

In the United States and in most European countries the 
principle "exceptio plurium concubentium" constitutes a valid 
defense ::r the accused man in a bastardy action. According 
to this principle if the man can prove that the woman also 
had intimate relations with some other man during the period 
of time when conception may have occurred the case is dis- 
missed because the actual patemit)' cannot be proven. As 
a consequence young men frequently prevail on their friends 
to testify to immoral relations with the prosecutrix. Little 
harm is done because the case immediately collapses and the 
offense of the young men is soon forgotten. So long as the 
purpose of bastardy proceedings is to designate the putative 
father in order that his obligation to the illegitimate child may 
be enforced, the above mentioned principle is \-alid. If the 
question to be decided is, who is the father, then the prosecu- 
tion can make no case if promiscuous intercourse is proven. 
The best thought, however, no longer supports this principle. 
Extra-conjugal sex relations and children bom out of wed- 
lock give rise to a varietv- of problems. There is the interest 
of the mother and of the child, as well as the need of moral 
standards for the community. The most important question 
is not the identity of the putative father, but the plan of pro- 
cedure which will best safeguard the interests of societ)'. To 
becom.e oreninnelv eitective the law must actuallv reduce 



162 University of Missouri Studies 

the impulse to immorality, while it makes provision for the 
mother and the child. If a number of men have each risked 
the possibility of paternity their intent is quite as immoral 
and debased as if each one were clearly proven the putative 
father of some illegitimate child. Modern penology is more 
interested in the character and conduct of the individual than 
in some objective outcome incidental to such conduct. Refor- 
mation and improvement require a program adapted to the 
psychology of the individaul. No constructive thinker be- 
lieves it right to penalize the man who alone has been inti- 
mate with some woman and at the same time to absolve from 
all responsibility two or more men because their misconduct 
happened in connection with the same woman. Since the 
actual guilt is identical it is most unjust to punish the proven 
putative father and to dismiss the group of culprits. So much 
more than the support of the child is involved that the right 
principle of action requires that all men who have sex rela- 
tions with a woman during the time when conception must 
have occured shall contribute to the support of the child. It 
is immaterial who is the actual father. One of several men 
might have been. Each is potentially guilty and unless each 
is penalized and held responsible we cannot hope to deter 
men from immorality. 

The Minnesota State Board of Control has taken an ad- 
vanced stand in respect to this subject and in 1918 adopted 
a resolution governing its action in illegitimacy proceedings 
which conveys the following thought; the Board does not 
think a man is wronged if he is made to bear paternal re- 
sponsibility when he could be the father of the child according 
to the evidence even though other men had relations with the 
girl. Nevertheless it would allow the defendant every oppor- 
tunity to establish his defense. ^^ 

On the other hand a woman sometimes selects from a 



"U. S. Children's Bureau — Illegitimacy as a Child Welfare Pro- 
blem. — p. 43. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 163 

group of men who are implicated the one best able to support 
her child and brings proceedings against him. Such a man 
obtains more publicity than the rest and is sometimes a victim 
of blackmail. A bad situation such as this must occasionally 
be expected, but even so it does not justify the retention of 
the principle that all the accused must be freed because more 
than one is guilty. 

A feature of some laws relates to the cost of maintaining 
mothers and babies that should be cared for in the counties 
in which the mothers have their settlements. The New York 
law specifically provides for indemnification of one county 
by another when it has been proven that the mother has mi- 
grated under pressure or influence from her home county to 
some other community where she has been compelled to accept 
public charitable support. Such cases are handled in precise- 
ly the same way as are "poor" migrating from one county to 
another. This procedure relieves the counties or towns to- 
ward which the pregnant girls gravitate and places the cost 
where it belongs. It does not, however, require each commu- 
nity to struggle concretely with its problem; since paying a 
small indemnity is no substitute for actual work and does not 
educate a community to the need of preventive work. 

Greater difficulty is experienced in solving inter-state 
problems of a similar character. A large number of girls 
cross state lines in order to reach suitable lying-in facilities. 
Probably this is not usually necessary and could be avoided 
if they received other instructions. The only action which 
any states can take to relieve themselves of an undue burden 
is to provide for the return of patients to the states from 
which they migrated. The state of Indiana provides not only 
for this return of patients to the counties in which they have 
their settlement but to other states as well. It cannot charge 
other states, however, with the cost of the service it has given 
to any women as there is. no way of enforcing such a demand. 
The gradual recognition that bastardy is a condition to be 
handled separately within each state is also leading private 



164 University of Missouri Studies 

agencies to discourage inter-state migration of pregnant wom- 
en and to insist that each state care for its own, since in no 
other way can the laws be applied. 

In the cities the enforcement of laws requiring paternal 
support of the child will no doubt be best fostered by domestic 
relations courts. After dealing with family problems of ev- 
ery kind they soon learn to divest themselves of the cold 
legalism that prevents so many people from securing justice 
and to view the cases before them as problem^s in humanity. 
The atmosphere of the court is then entirely changed and 
judges and other court officials, such as investigation and pro- 
bation officers, apply sound principles of social service to 
their work. As a natural result each case is studied from the 
sociological viewpoint and settled accordingly, as far as the 
law will allow. This is a tremendous gain and means greater 
justice to women and to children, and more difficult escape 
by men from the consequences of their vice and immorality. 

The chief field of courts of domestic relations, however,, 
will be in the larger cities. In the rural sections and small 
towns the prevailing court system is not likely to change 
materially for many years. Nevertheless, the gradual hu- 
manization of the courts and the education of lawyers in eco- 
nomics and sociology as well as the growing demand by the 
public for justice will go far toward obtaining good results,, 
especially if our laws are revised so as to become adequate 
to meet the situation. 

The bastardy laws of European countries, with few ex- 
ceptions, are as unsatisfactory as are our own. Furthermore, 
illegitimacy is far more prevalent and the people have hardly 
made a beginning in trying to solve the problem. The status 
of woman also is less favorable than in America, a fact which 
profoundly affects the character of the laws. On the other 
hand, modern and adequate poor laws are an impetus to re- 
form in handling illegitimate children and some countries 
have undoubtedly felt the result. 

In England before 1834 a man could be declared the pu- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 165 

tative father of an illegitimate child on the uncorroborated 
oath of the mother. Harsh treatment was authorized for both 
parents, yet the laws did not reduce immorality. The law 
of IS^'-d required corroborative testimony as to paternity and 
enabled the local parish to recover maintenance costs from 
the putative father. An interesting change was made in 1844 
when a law was passed which attempted to secure redress for 
the mothers in addition to support for the child. This law, 
however, was soon repealed. 

The existing bastardy law allows the woman to apply 
for a summons against the putative father, either before the 
child is born or within a year thereafter, although under cer- 
tain conditions, a longer time is allowed. The public guard- 
ians or relief officials may also apply, but only after the child 
is born, apparently on the theory that their only concern is 
the maintenance of the child. The courts adjudicate the case 
and if the man is declared the putative father, they make an 
order that varies according to the exigencies of the case. This 
order may require the payment of a specified sum, for the 
care and training of the child, and also for confinement ex- 
penses of the mother. If the child has died before the mak- 
ing of the order the man may be required to pay its funeral 
expenses and to pay the costs incurred in obtaining the order. 

In case the application was made by the guardians the 
putative father may be directed to pay the guardians specified 
sums for the relief of the child as long as it is being publicly 
supported. The mother, however, is not relieved from liabil- 
ity for maintenance. When the child is no longer chargeable, 
the order for maintenance lapses and the mother cannot have 
the payment of the money transferred to her in case she en- 
deavors to care for the child except by securing a fresh order 
from the court on her own application. In general, the pro- 
ceeding is uncertain, and results are very unsatisfactory. The 
officials complain that the guardians cannot obtain orders for 
the maintenance of the mother, although she may be depend- 
ent on public support for months. Furthermore, in the great 



166 University of Missouri Studies 

majority of cases no orders of any kind are obtained, many 
young women leaving the public institutions before proceed- 
ings have been begun. 

Among the recommendations for improving the methods 
of procedure, the following were indorsed by the Commission 
on Poor Laws.^^ 

The law should expressly state that an order once ob- 
tained whether by the mother or the guardians shall be avail- 
able by whichever party is maintaining the child. 

The law should be amended so that, regardless of the 
conditions which make the child dependent, the putative fath- 
er shall be liable for its support and with increasing cost to 
him if necessary. This recommendation aims to provide for 
the child in case the mother dies or is incapacitated. 

The putative father should be made liable for the main- 
tenance of the mother while she is dependent on the public 
for support. 

The officials in different districts should co-operate in 
the enforcement of law so as to reach the man who changes- 
residence to evade the law. 

There should be an effective system of control of the 
feeble-minded. 

Depraved women should be detained in suitable insti- 
tutions. 

These are rather moderate recommendations and deal 
largely with the problem of maintenance and support of either 
child and mother or both. The commissioners apparently had 
no comprehensive preventive program in mind. 

The German Civil Code makes the following provisions 
for the care of illegitimate children : 

The father must support the child until it is 16 according 
to the mother's station of life. 

Support includes necessaries of life, cost of education and 
of preparation for a vocation. 

^^Royal Commission on Poor Laws. Vol. II, p. 144. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 167 

If the child has mental or physical defects longer support 
may be required. 

The father must pay confinement expenses of mother and 
maintenance for six weeks after birth of child. 

Father's duty of support precedes mother's. 

If father dies, child has claim on heirs of father. 

An agreement between father and child as to compensa- 
tion instead of maintenance requires the consent of a court 
of guardianship. 

If child dies cost of interment must be borne by father,^ 
if heirs of child cannot pay. 

Maintenance must be paid three months in advance. 

France, Italy, Switzerland and Hungary have in recent 
years passed legislation facilitating the care and maintenance 
of illegitimate children, but little, if any, can be considered 
of revolutionary character. 

In conclusion it may be stated that bastardy law and its 
administration should be improved in the following partic- 
ulars : 

1. An effective method of extradition, whether bastardy^ 
is a criminal or civil case, should be provided. If the status 
of illegitimacy is abolished a plan similar to that devised irL 
Minnesota to bring absconding fathers back to their state 
should be introduced. 

2. Inquiry into paternity should be permitted from the 
time pregnancy is first apparent until the child is of age, 
provided the putative father is living. 

3. The principle "exceptio plurium concubentium"^ 
should be abolished. 

4. Joint support of the child by both father and mother- 
should be provided for. 

5 The father should be required to support the mother 
during confinement and incapacity connected with or due to 
child birth. 

6. Orders for the support of child should be adequate 
and continued during his minority. 



168 University of Missouri Studies 

7. Effective methods of investigation and of applying 
the law^ should be developed. Cases should be handled with 
as little publicity, and as much outside the courtrooms, as 
possible. 

8. Maintenance orders should be enforced. 

Public Guardianship of Illegitimate Children 

Recent developments in Germany are of interest to the 
American social w^orkers because of a certain plan of action 
of w^hich that country is the originator. It is the guardian- 
ship plan. For a long time, Germany suffered from a high rate 
of illegitimacy and because of the inadequacy of the bastardy 
law the great majority of fathers evaded all responsibility 
for their illegitimate children. According to this plan, some 
knowledge is gained concerning every illegitimate child, since 
each case is at once reported to the board of guardians. It 
matters not whether the children are rich or poor, of high or 
lowly station and born of married or unmarried parents, so 
long as they are not legitimate. Upon the board devolves the 
task of safeguarding the interests of the children. In many 
cases they are being properly cared for and nothing needs to 
be done except to confirm the practical guardianship that al- 
ready exists by making the mother guardian of her child. 
In most cases, however, this easy disposition of the case is 
not possible and other guardians must be appointed. Owing 
to the fact that the great majority of unmarried mothers go 
to lying-in hospitals for confinement, cases are referred to 
the board for inquiry before the baby is born and support 
gained from the man involved. 

According to Borosini excellent results have been 
achieved in such cities as Leipsic and Dresden, where the sys- 
tem is being tried. ^^ In Dresden in 1907 only 137 fathers were 
assisting in the support of their illegitimate children, although 
the city must contain thousands of them and many are born 

^^ournal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Crimi- 
nology. — July, 1913. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 169 

every year. Remarkable changes have been accomplished, 
however, within a few years and in 1910 the men involved 
contributed in 29 per cent of the cases toward the maintenance 
of pregnant unmarried mothers, and 1209 fathers began to 
support their illegitimate children for the first time. A nine- 
fold increase of the number in three years implies a new sys- 
tem of efficiency that should not only safeguard illegitimate 
children but reduce immorality as well. Leipsic introduced 
the system about 1903 and in a short time the guardians' court 
became responsible for over 3,000 illegitimate children. In 
a large proportion of cases it succeeded in making the putative 
father provide for his child without attempting court proced- 
ure but in 650 cases suits were filed. In 1913, 10,188 illegiti- 
mate children were under supervision and paternal responsi- 
bility had been greatly extended. Such support. hoAvever, 
gradually weakens as the child grows older. ^° A recent law 
in Austria provides for the supervision of all children born 
out of lawful wedlock. 

The only American state that has attempted to provide 
illegitimate children with a definite guardian is ^linnesota^ 
Every public or private hospital and maternity or infants^ 
home must report each case of illegitimacy to the state board 
of control. This board when notified of a case is to take 
measures for safeguarding the interests of the child, for de- 
termining its paternity and for securing, as nearly as possi- 
ble, as much care, support and education for the child as if 
he were legitimate. Accordingly the board may initiate such 
legal action as may be necessary to accomplish these ends. 
It is empowered to enforce the law for the protection of il- 
legitimate children and to do this may co-operate with ju- 
venile courts and child helping agencies of a public or private 
character. It may appoint county child welfare boards which 
shall perform such duties locally as the board of control may 

"^U. S. Children's Bureau— Illegitimacy as a Child Welfare Prob- 
lem, p. 51. 



170 University of Missouri Studies 

require. In counties where no such board is appointed the 
juvenile court judg-e may appoint an agent to assist in carry- 
ing out the provisions of the law. The law went into effect 
Jan. 1, 1918, and will be eagerly watched for results. 

In the various states some system of general guardianship 
similar to the Minnesota plan should be instituted. The 
board of guardians should receive all reports relating to preg- 
nant unmarried women and to the births of illegitimate chil- 
dren, or if illegitimacy is no longer recognized, to the birth 
of children born outside of lawful wedlock. The board should 
at once assume the general guardianship of the children. 
If they are properly cared for by the mother the chief form 
of supervision necessary will be probationary oversight either 
by an official of the board or by some person appointed by 
the board to serve in this capacity. The board should under- 
take to provide for the care of every illegitimate child. It 
should therefore make every effort to discover the father and 
to require him to assist in supporting the child. The proce- 
dure should follow the plan of investigation and sociological 
treatment common in the juvenile court. The board must 
not wait until a woman makes a complaint but it must as- 
sume the initiative and if necessary take the case into the 
courts. On the establishment of a child's paternity the court 
should make an order ample to meet the requirements and 
the board of guardians should enforce the obligations now 
placed upon the man. The board should deal with each case 
according to its merits. Often the parties may be reconciled 
and persuaded to marry. Sometimes the children should be 
removed from the parents and in all cases provision for prop- 
er care and education must be made. To become genuinely 
successful a system of general guardianship must be supple- 
mented by effective bastardy and non-support laws and the 
systematic aid of judges and probation officers. 

Child Desertion Laws 

A comparatively recent development in the handling of 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 171 

illegitimate children is the tendency to include provision for 
their care in a family or child desertion law. Some of the 
older laws explicitly provide for court action and penalty if 
the man or woman deserts his or her child or children born in 
lawful wedlock or legitimized. The illegitimate child is left 
without protection by such laws and unless safeguarded by 
other legislation can be abandoned by its parents or mother 
with impunity. The Delaware law of 1913 illustrates the new 
tendency in that it requires a parent to support his or her il- 
legitimate children under the age of 16 in destitute or neces- 
sitous circumstances. Failure to provide for them constitutes 
a misdemeanor. The law further states that "it is hereby 
made the duty of the parent of any illegitimate child or chil- 
dren under the age of 16 years to provide for the support and 
maintenance of such illegitimate child or children." 

The Massachusetts law relating to illegitimate children 
and their maintenance also passed in 1913 has similar but 
more drastic provisions. It provides definitely that if any 
father of an illegitimate child neglects or refuses to contrib- 
ute reasonably to the support and maintenance of such child 
he can be punished under the provisions of the wife and child 
desertion law. 

It will at once appear that such a law vigorously supple- 
ments the bastardy law that may exist, since a child must be 
maintained until it is 16 years old. If a child's paternity has 
been determined and the mother is physically unable to as- 
sist in supporting the child, the father cannot avoid his obli- 
gations, as he can be reached through the non-support, if not 
the bastardy, law\ Among the first states to amend the law 
so as to make it apply to illegitimate children were Ohio, Ne- 
braska and Wisconsin, but Massachusetts is the only state 
that has actually begun to apply the principle. 

Pension and Insurance Laws 

Since the great war began several European countries 
have made significant changes in their laws relating to illegiti- 



172 University of Missouri Studies 

macy. Under certain conditions the illegitimate child in Eng- 
land may now become the beneficiary of the separation al- 
lowance granted by the government and also receive a pen- 
sion if the father is killed as a result of military service. Ger- 
many likewise grants pensions for the support of an illegiti- 
mate child provided the obligation of the father to render 
support has previously been established. It plans further- 
more to grant such children the same war orphan pension 
that is promised to legitimate children. 

The system of maternity insurance has likewise been ex- 
tended. In England it applies to both married and unmarried 
mothers. In Germany a similar rule now applies, limited 
however, to mothers for whose children the fathers have ac- 
knowledged an obligation.^^ In every European country un- 
usual efforts are being made to care for illegitimate as well 
as legitimate children. The falling birth-rate with its menace 
for the future of a nation no doubt has prompted much of this 
kindly efifort and legislation. 

The American government under the recent allotment 
and allowance law also made some provision for the illegiti- 
mate child. The word child included "an illegitimate child, 
but as to the father, only, if acknowledged by instrument in 
writing signed by him, or if he has been judicially ordered 
or decreed to contribute to such child's support and if such 
child, if born after December 31, 1917, shall have been born 
in the United States or in its insular possessions." An enlist- 
ed man had to make an allotment to the child he was ordered 
to support and an additional allowance could be granted by 
the government. However, the allotment and allowance to- 
gether could not exceed the amount fixed in the order or de- 
cree. The law treated the illegitimate child with the same 
degree of fairness as did the respective states. Wherever the 
courts fixed adequate amounts for the support of illegitimate 

''^The facts presented in this connection are taken from the paper 
by Miss Emma O. Lundberg, read before the National Conference of 
Social Work, 1917. See Proceedings, p. 299 ff. 



Children Borx Out of AA'edlock 173 

children a reasonable sum could be obtained from federal 
sources. In those states, however, in which no provision 
was made for bastardy cases the child received nothing from 
the federal government. 

Article III of the federal law relates to compensation for 
death or disability and Article IV to Insurance. Under the 
same limitations as stated above the illegitimate child could 
become a beneficiary for the amounts allowed under the pro- 
visions of these sections of the laws. 

The mothers' pension laws of the various states are grad- 
ually removing the restrictions against the unmarried mother. 
The new ^Massachusetts laAv provides that aid may be given 
to all needy mothers with dependent children under 1-i years 
of age if such mothers are fit to bring up their children. The 
civil status of the mother is not considered but her eligibility 
to a pension is made to depend on her character. 

The Missouri law of 1917 makes provision for the needy 
mothers with children under 16 or needy women about to 
become mothers, provided that the father is dead or if alive 
is in an institution for the insane, feeble-minded, epileptic, or 
criminal, or is permanently incapacitated, or has deserted, or 
been divorced from the woman. The law does not use the 
terms "wives", "widows", or "husbands," but substitutes 
"mothers" and "fathers" instead, thereby placing the unmar- 
ried mother on the same footing as her married sister. The 
older pension laws almost without exception limit the bene- 
fits to women who are or have become lawfully married, and 
are a reflection of the prevailing viewpoint that the illegiti- 
mate child must be penalized for his parents' transgressions. 
The removal of all distinctions as in the laws referred to rep- 
resent the growing tendency to safeguard the welfare of the 
illegitimate child and to abolish the discriminations from 
which he has suffered. 

Abolition of Common-Law Marriage 

Under ideal conditions common-law marriage does not 



174 University of Missouri Studies 

promise much harm but in actual practice it is extremely 
disastrous. In the first place there is no record of the mar- 
riage and the absence of official evidence frequently leads to 
most serious results; for example, if the husband deserts 
it is practically impossible for the v^ife to secure maintenance 
because proof of marriage is impossible. It is hard to con- 
vince courts that the condition which the man and the woman 
have called common-law marriage actually constitutes a valid 
marriage. The man, therefore, is not regarded as a genuine 
husband and the case is lost. 

Again, a common-law marriage is not usually a tie that 
binds for better or for worse. There is a decided tendency 
to separate and to live a promiscuous life. If separation or 
desertion occurs another marriage may follow, either formal 
or informal as before, yet the proof of bigamy would be as 
difficult as that of marriage when a case is pressed for non- 
support. Occasionally, however, the evidence has been suffi- 
ciently clear to convict a man formally married who was not 
divorced from his "common-law" wife, but, on the whole, 
legal action is usually impossible. Common-law marriage 
disregards the interest of the state in the family, the home and 
children, and cannot be a wholesome procedure. It has practi- 
cally no valid arguments in its favor; and in view of the im- 
morality and loose living which it invites, of the many chil- 
dren condemned to namelessness, of the low standards it 
produces, and of the degraded home life which it engenders, 
the system of common-law marriage should be abolished. 
Nor would the abolition of the status of illegitimacy justify 
the retention of common-law marriage. It would still be de- 
sirable for a child to be born in lawful wedlock since no ques- 
tion would be raised concerning his paternity. So long as 
difficulties arise in designating the putative father so long it 
is not possible to justify any system which tends to obscttre 
paternity and to require court procedure to determine it. 
However, the situation would be less serious than now be- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 175 

cause an evasion of responsibility for the child would be more 
difficult. 

Legitimation 

In some countries legitimation is possible, in others not. 
Even in England, as was previously stated, where the puta- 
tive father may be apprehended and forced to accept respon- 
sibilities, legitimation does not follow marriage unless mar- 
riage precedes the birth of the child. Once a bastard always 
a bastard, is the accepted principle of law, in spite of the 
serious hardships it works on the children. In several coun- 
tries marriage must be accompanied by a formal act of ac- 
knowledgment of paternity. This condition is particularly 
true of the nations that follow or formerly followed the Na- 
poleonic Code, such as France, Italy and Belgium. In the 
Teutonic countries, the principle of legitimation is generally 
accepted and as a result it has been estimated that from 25 
to 30 per cent of the illegitimate children are legitimated. 
This proportion, if true, is much higher than any that pre- 
vails in the United States, where the number of subsequent 
marriages is small. 

According to the statutory laws of some states, when- 
ever a man marries the mother of his child the child is there- 
by legitimated and endowed with all the rights that belong 
to the legitimate child. This privilege is frequently limited 
to children whose parents at the time of the child's concep- 
tion were not legally barred from marrying each other. In 
many states marriage must be supplemented by the acknowl- 
edgment on the part of the father that the child is his. If, 
on the other hand, the mother marries a man other than the 
reputed father of the child and he refuses to acknowledge the 
child as his descendant, the child is not legitimated but may 
be adopted by him and then enter into the rights of lawful 
heirs. Marriage with the putative father legitimates the child 
whether the marriage occurred before or after confinement. 
In some states a child may be legitimated by judicial proceed- 



176 University of Missouri Studies 

ing or by formal declaration which is made a matter of record. 
Children are sometimes born of parents whose intermarriage 
is prohibited by law, for example in case the parents are close- 
ly related, are of different races, or are feeble-minded. Such 
marriages may be annulled and the children, if this is done, 
become illegitimate and cannot be legitimated through any 
subsequent action of the parents. In a similar way, the per- 
son who marries while a former wife or husband is living 
cannot have legitimate offspring. However, in some coun- 
tries the children of a voidable marriag-e are legitimate pro- 
vided the parents did not know of their disabilities. 

Since the war began several European countries have 
recognized the former inadequacy of their laws. France in 
1915 passed a law providing for the legitimation of children 
by the intermarriage of their parents. The most radical fea- 
ture of the law, however, authorizes the marriage of soldiers 
or sailors by proxy, if the prospective wife is pregnant, if 
such marriage is necessary to legitimate a child, or for other 
''good reasons." Italy also has provided for marriage by 
proxy. In the case of both nations there is an evident desire 
to legitimate as many children as possible. 

Many men would now deal with the question of legiti- 
mation in an entirely new way, that is by actually abolishing 
the status of illegitimacy. All children are to be considered 
the legitimate children of their natural parents whether they 
are born in lawful wedlock or not. 

North Dakota stands unique among the states of the 
Union as the first and only state so far that has abolished 
the status of illegitimacy and that now recognizes all chil- 
dren as the lawful descendants of their parents. The action 
of this state follows that of Norway which in 1915 passed a 
similar law. The Russian decree of December 1917 states 
that children born out of wedlock are on an equality with 
those born in wedlock with regard to the rights and duties 
of parents toward children, and likewise of children toward 
parents. There is no evidence that the handicaps imposed on 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 177 

the illegitimate child are counterbalanced by a proportionate 
reduction of immorality or some similar gain. Nor would 
the removal of discrimination make obligations to children 
born out of lawful wedlock desirable. 

Inheritance 

An illegitimate child inherits through its mother and is 
usually cut off from any inheritance through the father. 
When legitimation occurs, then, of course, the child is no 
longer disqualified. Inheritance through the mother is both 
direct and lateral. Property which would pass to the mother 
from her parents will, if the mother is deceased, pass on to the 
child. In a similar way, if an uncle or aunt of the child should 
die under conditions which would call for distribution of the 
property among the brothers and sisters of the deceased, the 
child's mother would be eligible for a share and the child in 
turn would succeed to its mother's right. 

The establishment of paternity does not insure the right 
of inheritance. The putative father may be officially discover- 
ed and designated and be compelled to furnish maintenance 
for the child, but his duties extend no further and the child 
has no additional claims. Paternity outside lawful wedlock 
makes no breach in the general rules governing the great 
institutions of private property. Both parents may be legally 
known but unless they have intermarried and the child is 
legitimated he must take the mother's name and can inherit 
only through the mother. In other words the child has an 
official sire with some responsibility for his offspring; but 
the man is in no sense a real father. In this respect, therefore, 
the status of the illegitimate child is most precarious and 
leaves much to be desired. 

Several American states have recently modified the re- 
strictions against the right of inheritance. In Kansas if a 
father has clearly recognized a child as his the child gains 
the right of inheritance. In several states children may in- 
herit when paternity has been proven. Maryland in 1912 



178 University of Missouri Studies 

enacted a law whereby money is to be paid from the father's 
estate to the unmarried mother. The sum, however, cannot 
exceed $500, nor more than one-half of the amount that a 
legitimate child would receive. The money due the woman 
is a definite charge against the estate and cannot be avoided. 
This is not strictly speaking inheritance by the child from the 
father, but the share which the mother may receive can be 
passed on to her child. Indirectly, therefore, the child may ob- 
tain possession of some of the property of his father. 

North Dakota in 1917 enacted a law providing that chil- 
dren born out of lawful wedlock may inherit from their fath- 
ers in like manner as from their mothers. The principle, 
however, can apply only when the paternity has been offi- 
cially established. Minnesota has also granted the right of 
inheritance from the father but prohibits it from relatives of 
either parent if no marriage has occurred. In several other 
states bills of a similar character have been considered but 
rejected. The full right to inherit from the father should 
eventually be established everywhere. 

The Norw^egian Law 

More serious efiforts have been made in Norway than in 
any other country to break away from the conventional meth- 
od of handling illegitimacy and to introduce radical reforms. 
For many years the Norwegian parliament has been strug- 
gling with measures relating to this subject and in view of 
the fact that nearly one-tenth of all the births in that country 
were illegitimate the question was given the most earnest 
consideration. A bill was finally passed in March, 1915, to 
become efifective January, 1916, which carries with it several 
radical changes in the treatment of the problem. ^^ The custom- 
ary point of view is entirely changed and the existence of 
illegitimacy is not recognized nor the word used in the law. 

^^Children's Bureau — Norwegian Laws Concerning Illegitimate 
Children. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 179 

This attitude naturally opens the way for several innovations. 
To begin with, the state becomes a sort of foster mother and 
public aid is granted to mothers, married or unmarried, for 
prenatal care, and also for post-natal attention for a period 
not exceeding six months. One of the benefits expected from 
this measure is a decided reduction in the mortality of illegit- 
imate infants as well as the development of affection by the 
mother of her child. It should tend to keep mother and child 
together in a larger percentage of cases than heretofore.^^ 

A second innovation is the right of the child to assume 
the father's name. This right, of course, is impossible so 
long as the putative father has not been designated, but with 
gradually improved facilities for the determination of this 
fact a large number of children will have the opportunity to 
escape the ignominy that to some extent attaches itself to the 
child bound to the metronymic system illegitimacy has in the 
past imposed upon it. Furthermore, it involves recognition 
by the father and the world begins to consider the child not 
only an individual whom the law has compelled the father to 
support, but as a real son or daughter of the man ; while 
the man is regarded as a father instead of putative progeni- 
tor. The law requires the state, not the mother, to initiate 
proceedings for the support of the child, but the mother must 
also contribute to its support. Furthermore, the child must 
be supported on a plane corresponding to the financial status 
of the wealthier parent. 

Perhaps the most radical reform is that which permits 
the natural child to enjoy equal inheritance with the children 
of lawful wedlock. A great gain has been made when inheri- 
tance through the paternal ancestry is allowed at all while 
equal rights are decidedly revolutionary. 

Two important consequences are expected from this pro- 
vision of the law. The lot of the natural child will be decided- 



p. 284 



'Evangeline W. Young, Medical Review of Reviews. May, 1915. 



180 University of Missouri Studies 

ly improved as under the old system little property wsls ever 
inherited. Usually, the mother v^as poor; frequently, she 
was disinherited because of her sin, and her accumulations 
subsequent to her dovi^nfall did not net a large sum for her 
child. Under the uqw law a higher economic status is bound 
to follow. In the second place, the father purchases a new 
obligation. If he is married he probably adds an additional 
child to the number already enjoying a claim on his property. 
That the prospect of such heirs will be a deterrent factor there can 
be no doubt. That occasionally the converse will be true is also 
likely and the man with an affinity may deliberately weigh the 
consequences, but the general effect will be decidedly deterring. 
If the putative father is single he reduces his marriageability 
and carries a millstone about his neck. Not only will he 
have lost prestige, but his judgment, as well as his morals 
will be impugned. He cannot escape his obligations as can 
the father in most countries and he has incurred a permanent 
liability from which only the death of the child can release 
him. 

An interesting feature of the law is the abandonment of 
the principle ''exceptio plurium concubentium," the nature 
of which has already been described. Norway now holds 
all of those implicated responsible and each must share the 
burden. Perhaps the law at this point is unnecessarily drastic. 
If the mother under oath names a man as the father of her 
child he must either acknowledge or disprove the charge. 
Unless non-access for a period ranging from 302 to 180 days 
before the birth of the child can be proven by the man or the 
men charged with possible responsibility for paternity, joint 
support is required. Under these conditions the child does 
not enjoy the right of inheritance from his father. 

Proposals of Missouri Children's Code Commission 

Perhaps the new thought can be fairly well expressed 
by an outline of the bills relating to illegitimacy proposed by 
the Missouri Children's Code Commission to the Legislatures 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 181 

of Missouri in 1917, 1919 and 1921. The measures were as fol- 
lows :^* 

1. An act to equalize the right of inheritance as applying 
to legitimate and illegitimate children. 

2. An act to provide that children born out of wedlock shall 
be deemed legitimate after the parents marry, wdthout formal 
acknowledgment. 

3. An act granting to that parent of an illegitimate child 
whether father or mother w^ho actually has the custody and 
control of the child the right to the services, and earnings 
and to the management of the property of such child. 

4. An act providing that every child hereafter born shall 
be deemed the child of its natural parents, and that any inter- 
ested person may institute a proceeding in the juvenile court 
to determine the parentage of any child under 18 years of 
age. Such proceeding, however, must be brought during the 
lifetime of the reputed parents. In all such cases the hearings 
may be held in private and the evidence sealed. 

5. An act compelling support of an illegitimate child by its 
father and placing the duty of support on both father and 
mother. 

6. An act permitting the court to compel several men who 
are shown to have been intimate with the unmarried mother 
during the period w^hen the child must have been conceived 
to contribute to the support of the child provided its paternity 
cannot be definitely established. Proceedings in such cases 
are not public and the evidence is sealed. 

7. An act abolishing common law marriage. 

8. An act providing that child desertion shall include de- 
sertion by its parents of an illegitimate child. 

9. An act requiring a legal order of the court to transfer 
the control or custody of a child. This bill aimed to reach 

^Reports of Missouri Children's Code Cornmission, 1916 and 1918. 
Bulletin, Missouri, State Board of Charities and Corrections, 
Dec, 1920. 



182 University of Missouri Studies 

■"baby farming" and traffic in babies by immoral and irrespon- 
sible agents. 

10. An act fixing the age at which a girl may marry with 
her parents' consent at fifteen years. 

11. An act providing for the supervision and regulation of 
maternity hospitals, boarding houses for infants and boarding 
homes for children. 

12. An act raising the age of consent from 15 to 16 years. 

13. An act providing for mothers' pensions, without refer- 
ence to the conjugal condition of the mother. 

The foregoing program is at once an evidence both of 
the shortcomings of individual states and the nature of a 
constructive program. In justice to Missouri it may be added 
that during the various years that these bills have been be- 
fore the legislature nearly all of the principles involved have 
been crystallized into laws. Nevertheless, the most important 
of these principles as outlined in paragraph 4 has been tem- 
porarily rejecte;i and the bill covering paragraph 6 met with 
such unreasonable but vigorous opposition in 1917 that it 
was not presented to the succeeding legislatures. Progressive 
thought is far ahead of legislative enactment. 

In conclusion it may be safely claimed that American 
law and its administration have so far accomplished but little 
toward the solution of the problem of illegitimacy. Fathers 
have been designated in a small proportion of cases only; 
the amount of support or maintenance ordered has been woe- 
fully inadequate ; the babies have been given but little atten- 
tion, the children have been denied rights and opportunities, 
mothers have been compelled to struggle with life largely ac- 
cording to their own resources and the volume of illegitimacy 
has not been reduced. In Europe with its exorbitant rates of 
illegitimacy public action has been amazingly futile and un- 
successful, but some progress is being made. For both Eu- 
rope and America an effective display of the possibilities of 
enlightened legislation is largely the work of the future. And 
the greatest need is an aggressive public opinion that will in- 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 183 

sist on the application of the law to the offending parties. 
The best legislation will be utterly useless unless the people 
demand that the officials enforce and carry out the law. The 
program is intricate and unless every part of it is faithfully 
followed the preventive effect of legislation will be worthless. 
Unlawful and irregular sex relations must be made economic- 
ally and socially undesirable. 



CHAPTER VIII 
PREVENTION 

The causes of illegitimacy are largely the causes of im- 
morality, but there is a difference, for many a trustful girl 
has yielded her body under conditions that hardly make pos- 
sible the imputation of depraved and ignoble standards. Il- 
legitimacy is also distinguished from immorality in that it is 
an objective manifestation of sex experience. Society is not 
easily moved by that which it cannot readily see or feel, but 
it is affected by the things that are tangible and objectively 
concrete. The problem of illegitimacy is therefore similar 
and yet not identical to that of immorality. 

The prevention of immorality has hardly become a hope; 
and the prevention of illegitimacy is almost as difficult. The 
realization of the program will be the work of decades, if 
not centuries, and its details are so complicated and perplex- 
ing that an extended discussion would only confuse and ob- 
scure. Nevertheless, brief mention of the ramifications of 
such a program should be made in order to give a better per- 
spective to those dealing with the unmarried mother and her 
child, and to give additional impetus to a number of move- 
ments that promise to strike the evil at its source and that 
cannot fail greatly to reduce immorality. A preventive pro- 
gram must have two classes or types of individuals in mind. 
The first is composed of the mentally or physically abnormal, 
who even in a creditable environment are unable to save them- 
selves from immorality and who either become aggressive in 
vice or its inevitable victims. Such persons lack will power, 
are helpless before suggestion or possess an abnormal or per- 
haps an insatiable sex appetite. The second group consists 
of persons who are fundamentally normal in brain, physique 
and emotion, but who suffer through ignorance, lack of moral 

(184) 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 185 

and religious training, poverty, unwholesome customs and 
other unfavorable conditions of environment. 

Remedial Legislation as Preventive Work. 

In the preceding chapters we have spoken of measures 
dealing with men and women after acts of illicit sex inter- 
course have been committed. These measures are therefore 
largely remedial in character and aim primarily to insure 
the care and protection of the child. Nevertheless, a pro- 
gram such as outlined, if rigidly enforced, would not only 
protect the mother and the child and compel the father to 
assume a richly deserved responsibility for his extra-conjugal 
offspring, it would also prove a powerful deterrent and greatly 
lessen the prevalence of births outside of lawful wedlock. 

The more fundamental preventive measures, however, 
do not consist of revolutionary methods of dealing with of- 
fenders, but of a constructive program with the boy and the 
girl before their experience with vice. Such a program would 
be less costly than remedial effort, but it is more dififtcult to 
put it in operation. The passion for prevention cannot be 
aroused until conditions have become serious ; until many 
people have been impressed thereby, and the ineffectiveness 
of mere reform has been established. Although it is perma- 
nent and fundamental, the way to prevention leads through 
the field of remedial effort, and the goal is not easily reached. 

Control of Defectives 

The program to reduce illegitimacy by controlling the 
mentally and morally unfit includes a plan for the extended 
care of the feeble-minded. There is little hope of restraining 
this class of defectives from the practice of immorality after 
they have once begun illicit sex relations, and they lack fore- 
sight to weigh the consequences. Usually they are sexually 
well-developed and, being without sufficient will power to 
control their passions, they succumb to their lower instincts 
and become a prolific source of illegitimacy. A program of 



186 University of Missouri Studies 

moral education and sex instruction will not solve the prob- 
lem, unless they can live in a practically perfect environment 
in w^hich immoral suggestion w^ill never tempt. Such a hope 
is visionary; consequently a policy of segregation and insti- 
tutional care must be adopted. In the United States v^e 
have hardly begun to meet the situation since a very small 
proportion of the feeble-minded are now given institutional 
care for defectives. A larger percentage are cared for in 
penal institutions, insane asylums and almshouses, but segre- 
gation in these institutions is not generally permanent, and 
in actual fact the great majority are restored to freedom and 
return to society. 

Perhaps two-thirds of the defectives are at large, never 
having been inmates of any institution, and are a direct social 
menace because of their mental and moral weakness. Again, 
the persons in institutions are to a large extent representa- 
tives of the lowest groups of the feeble-minded and the ones 
least liable to become parents. The greatest danger arises 
from the excesses common among the high-grade imbeciles, 
the morons and the border-line cases. To the superficial ob- 
server the majority of these are normal; although recent in- 
vestigation clearly shows that they lack the qualities neces- 
sary for the perpetuation of virtuous manhood or womanhood. 
The weak-minded males are less dangerous than the females, 
because they cannot easily seduce normally-minded women 
while the weak-minded females are the constant prey of men 
from many walks of life. The feeble-minded of both sexes 
mingle with each other to some extent and in so far as this 
condition exists the male element is also a dangerous factor. 
But it is extremely hazardous to permit the weak-minded 
females to remain at large, and institutional care should, 
therefore, be provided for them even though under normal 
conditions they are able to maintain themselves. Such a step 
involves public care of thousands of women, but in the long 
run it will greatly reduce the burdens of society through 
the elimination of much poverty, feeble-mindedness, crime 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 187 

and illegitimacy. Furthermore, colonies composed of women 
of this type can be made almost entirely self-supporting. If 
so, the cost to the public would be reduced to a minimum. 
Every state should at once take steps to segregate feeble- 
minded women of child-bearing age and provide facilities for 
their employment under the best conditions possible for their 
happiness and welfare. Steps should then be taken to safe- 
guard society against feeble-minded boys and men. Com- 
pulsory commitment laws should be enacted, thereby enabling 
a community to protect itself at all times against any feeble- 
minded person. Institutions must of course exist to make 
such laws practicable. 

Every age of consent law should carry a clause providing 
that any man having carnal relations with a feeble-minded 
girl or woman of any age is guilty of rape and shall be pun- 
ished accordingly. The state of New Mexico has a provision 
of this kind in its law, the term ''imbecile" being used to desig- 
nate the feeble-minded. If the girl with a child mind can be 
protected from exploitation much immorality will be prevent- 
ed. However, at this time the enforcement of such a law is 
fraught with serious difficulties; judges deal lightly with of- 
fenders; juries sympathize with immoral men and adequate 
machinery for determining mentality exists in few localities. 
Nevertheless, legislation must be pressed, both to segregate 
the girl and to protect the woman at large. 

The second type of abnormal individual in urgent need 
of attention is the sex pervert, whether male or female. The 
male is dangerous as a possible criminal ; the female as the 
purveyor of disease, and the mother of illegitimate children. 
Already several states provide for the asexualization or ster- 
ilization of certain criminals guilty of serious offenses against 
sex. It would be well if all perverts could either be definitely 
segregated or sterilized and rendered harmless. There is no 
doubt that some women fall into this class and that many 
prostitutes, inmates of reformatories for girls and women, 
and even delinquent girls placed on probation by the courts 



188 University of Missouri Studies 

should be carefully examined and classified, and the perverts 
among these groups sterilized or detained as long as society 
needs protection against them. Unfortunately, sentiment at 
this time practically nullifies the sterilization laws now on 
the statute books. Nevertheless, the penalty proposed is a 
logical remedy for persistent crime against sex and can justly 
be applied to the sex pervert at least, if not to offenders con- 
fined for other causes. 

Constructive Measures 

A program or policy of segregating the dangerous and 
unfit, or of rendering them harmless, must be supplemented 
with an effective plan of personal work which involves the 
development of high standards of morals and adequate knowl- 
edge of sex and its meaning, and which makes fit all those 
having capacity for normal life. Without doubt this classifi- 
cation includes the great majority of individuals. 

A. Individual Training. There are a great many en- 
vironmental conditions, especially in our large cities, that 
tend to break down moral fiber, yet it is only too clear from 
general observation that high moral principles and ethical 
conduct are not taught our young people in such a manner 
or to such an extent as will make them resistant to the pres- 
sure of vice. The churches, schools, and parents — all have 
fallen short of their opportunity. Religion has failed partially 
because of a tendency to teach abstract morals instead of 
making precept definite and concrete. The schools have 
largely avoided mention of sex life and many parents have not 
been adequately fitted to deal intelligently with the problem. 

It is necessary to develop sound morals and capacity for 
resistance to temptation. Without doubt the teaching of per- 
sonal and sex hygiene may stimulate the desire for right liv- 
ing and promote habits of upright conduct. Especially is 
this true if emphasis is placed on the social and moral obliga- 
tion to remain pure. But something more than sex knowledge 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 189 

is necessary; the knowledge must be inspired and energized 
by moral fervor; otherwise immorality may not even seem a 
menace. Virtue is desired not because vice involves the dan- 
ger of loathsome disease, but because it is necessary for the 
greatest good. Fear of the physical consequences is not a 
compelling deterrent from the acts that lead to illegitimacy. 
It may indeed deter many who would otherwise patronize 
the prostitute. Although many unmarried mothers are dis- 
eased, illegitimacy is after all a phenomenon manifesting it- 
self among a group but few of whom are engaged in commer- 
cialized vice. Accordingly, sex ideals are relatively more 
important in reducing the evil, and high standards of ethics 
must be created alike among boys and girls. "Honor your 
neighbor's sister as your own" is a motto boys must learn, 
while girls must be taught the danger of the petty and in- 
sinuating temptations they place before the boys. The single 
standard of morals must be energetically taught and the fal- 
lacy of sex necessity exploded. However, a large proportion 
of the men of today are unable because of their own delin- 
quencies to participate effectively in the carrying out of this 
program. 

The author believes that sex and moral education are 
closely inter-related, and that the churches must assume a 
share in the task of developing in our young people the need- 
ed moral stamina. Although the statistics show that in the 
past a particular religion has had but little effect on the prev- 
alence of illegitimacy, without doubt the socialized religion 
of the future can become a powerful factor. There are many 
church organizations, some of which at least can definitely 
share in this program. 

In a similar way the inactivity of the school must be 
succeeded by an appropriate plan of sex instruction and ef- 
fective moral training. We are probably unable as yet to 
subscribe fully to any concrete plan of sex education; never- 
theless, some of the elementary principles are well established 
and much good work may be done. In some localities con- 



190 University of Missouri Studies 

siderable immorality has been unearthed among the older or 
high school children. Whether it is greater than that existing 
among working children of equal age is quite immaterial. 
We ought to insist that our schools, either in a formal way 
through ethical instruction or in an informal manner by ac- 
tually imparting the genuine ethical contest, promote such 
standards as will practically eliminate immorality among this 
class of young people. 

The influence of parents over their daughters is indicated 
partly by the high rate of delinquency among girls coming 
from broken homes. Still, mothers have not taken daughters 
sufficiently into their confidence and their diffidence in dis- 
cussing sex problems has greatly hindered the growth of 
vigorous ideals among girls. 

The direct influence of the father is largely limited to 
the influence of example, or at least apparent example, and 
not of precept. Nevertheless he vehemently condemns the 
misstep which his daughter may have taken. Boys need to 
find companions in their fathers, men whom they can trust, 
who will teach personal purity and who will demand right 
standards of conduct. Intemperance, immorality, profanity 
and vulgarity among men contribute largely to debased ideals 
among boys. Surrounded by such influences young men eas- 
ily plunge into immorality. 

There are other agencies that can directly influence the 
character of our youth. Among these are our social hygiene 
societies, boards of health, civic and social agencies, young 
people's organizations, physicians, etc. In many cases, how- 
ever, they do not directly touch our young men and women 
but influence parents, teachers and others ; and these in turn 
bring the message to the young people. The social hygiene 
societies which at first limited their discussion almost ex- 
clusively to the physical effects of immorality have gradually 
increased the emphasis placed on the duty of right living. 
All successful work must combine moral with sex hygiene. 

The direct effort with boys and girls succeeds only as 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 191 

capacity is developed to withstand suggestion and importu- 
nity. The weakness of many young women has been disclosed 
by statistics. Deception is a factor of alarming importance. 
Sex knowledge, will power, high ideals, a single standard of 
morals, an understanding of the tempter's devices — these are 
the attainments needed to protect young women and to stabil- 
ize the character of the young men. 

B. Improvement of Environment. The influences that 
develop habits and conduct are subtle and intricate. Besides 
the direct instructional agencies discussed in the foregoing 
pages are the environmental influences such as employment, 
leisure, recreation, housing conditions, associations, neighbor- 
hood influences, poverty and intemperance. These factors 
work indirectly but unfailingly. If they are uplifting the re- 
sults will be good ; if not, vice and immorality will certainly 
follow. Probably no better illustration of this fact can be 
given than the remarkable success achieved in some of the 
army camps. The secret of the success lay in the character 
of the daily routine of life. Work was followed by judicious 
systems of recreation and amusement, while uplifting in- 
fluences constantly abounded. As a consequence the venereal 
disease rate was greatly reduced, and in so far as sex irregu- 
larity has been eliminated the rate of illegitimacy throughout 
the country has been affected. 

One of the chief character builders or destroyers is the 
use made of leisure time. The recreational life of the men- 
tally and morally immature is particularly important because 
plastic character yields easily to external influences. To meet 
this problem two important developments are necessary; 
first the promotion of a comprehensive scheme of recreational 
activities which will attract and hold the interest of young 
people; and second, the control and supervision of the com- 
mercial amusements, particularly the dance hall, moving pic- 
ture and cheap theater. The first part of this program in- 
volves a wide extension of public recreational facilities. 



192 University of Missouri Studies 

Schools must be generally used as social centers and mixed 
dancing allowed therein. Civic centers must be established; 
small parks must be conveniently located throughout our 
large cities and provisions for recreation be enlarged in all 
parks. In most cities the leisure of young people receives 
much less attention than that of children. Playgrounds for 
the very young have been established almost everywhere, 
but individuals from 16 to 21 years of age have received but 
scant attention, yet it is precisely this group of persons who 
must be wisely directed if illegitimacy is to be reduced. The 
failure of public and philanthropic agencies to make ade- 
quate provision for them drives the young people into the 
arms of the commercial recreations. 

The public dance hall contributes greatly to the volume 
of illegitimacy and must therefore be carefully supervised. 
As with the dance hall so with other commercial amusements. 
The mind that is relaxed must not be filled with immoral 
thoughts ; the feet that are idle must not be lured by seduc- 
tive voices. The busy person cannot sacrifice the time to be- 
come immoral, the unhampered devotee of recreation easily 
finds the leisure and the opportunity for wrong-doing. Every 
recreation should therefore stimulate and inspire so that the 
emotions produced may be transformed into reputable forms 
of conduct. To produce this result careful supervision of 
recreation and amusement is necessary as well as a definite 
policy for the gradual socialization of recreation. 

It is necessary to make employment safe for young wom- 
en. The domestic servant must have better opportunities 
for self-expression and obtain a more reputable social status. 
The temptations surrounding office girls are productive of 
much immorality. A cleaner atmosphere must be provided. 
Girls cannot be allowed to engage in morally hazardous occu- 
pations, such as the messenger service. Young girls must 
be prohibited from following the allurement of stage life. 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 193 

Wherever the environment of work and occupation is a moral 
menace prohibitory measures must be adopted. 

The lack of privacy is a most unfortunate handicap. The 
children from a one-or-two-room apartment become inured 
to indelicacies, the effects of which coarsen and harden and 
often unloosen the restraint on sex experience. Bad housing 
conditions must be prevented. Congestion in the home is 
demoralizing. Whether poverty or low ideals are the causal 
factors their removal is necessary properly to conserve the 
morality of the growing child life of a community. Congested 
homes frequently imply bad associations. The high rate of 
juvenile delinquency in the slums and the relatively low stand- 
ards among girls are partly due to the debasing effects of 
neighborhood influences. One bad boy or girl can demoralize 
a group and to prevent the latter from contamination he or 
she must be isolated, avoided or reformed. Men and women 
are a large part of the environment of other men and women. 
The most immediate program of effort consists of neighbor- 
hood or community work through settlements, institutional 
churches, civic and social centers. This must be supplement- 
ed with a well-developed program of better housing. If these 
aims are accomplished the destructive forces of a community 
will greatly decline and the tendency to illicit sex intercourse 
be reduced. 

CONCLUSION 

It would be unwise to attempt the presentation of 
a complete program because sufficient social information 
to make this possible has not yet been obtained. Further- 
more we can hardly hope to prevent all immorality so long 
as human beings are erring and wayward. Even the entire 
transformation of our social and economic fabric would 
not realize this hope. The present duty is to make a begin- 
ning. The remedial program should be pushed with the ut- 
most vigor. Sentiment must be created to make it a reality 
and to insist on its perpetuation. Unless we are vigilant the 



194 University of Missouri Studies 

laws will be nullified or disregarded. Vigorous action in some 
German cities is said to have brought into existence a society 
for the protection of putative fathers. Public opinion must 
be so aroused that the fathers of illegitimate children will not 
venture to evade their obligations. 

, Because of its far reaching consequences the program 
for the control of defectives is making rapid progress. Social 
agencies are unanimous in their demand for greater insti- 
tutional facilities and for stricter surveillance of the feeble- 
minded. Sentiment is growing in favor of the compulsory 
commitment and detention of mental defectives. This meas- 
ure is being urged by the social workers because of its eugenic 
advantage as well as its effects on illegitimacy. 

The constructive program that deals directly with the 
normal individual or his environment is confronted with tre- 
mendous obstacles. To begin with, this program with some 
modifications, is also the line of effort demanded for many 
other reforms, and while it will receive the support of those 
interested in preventive work it will be strongly opposed by 
the anti-social elements. In the second place, it involves 
fundamental changes in our methods, activities and even so- 
cial organization, and will, therefore, be opposed by the re- 
actionary groups. Illegitimacy is not an isolated phenome- 
non, but is inextricably bound up with other social problems, 
notably with the never-ending problem of commercialized 
vice. Nevertheless, it presents features peculiar to itself, and 
for this reason justifies separate consideration and even a 
statement of plans for its gradual elimination. However, 
plans which purpose to control sex passion and subject it 
to social and ethical considerations are changeable and must 
be adapted from time to time. 

Emphasis should be limited here to the need of higher 
standards of morality and to the fact that the time is ripe for 
active work. Nothing could have given the subject of illegiti- 
macy more attention than the great war, now happily over, 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 195 

Never before have the people been so ready to carry out a pro- 
gram of action. Accordingly, leaders and a plan of work 
must be provided and the evil itself reduced if not eliminated. 



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Wisconsin Vice Committee — Report and Recommendations of, 1914. 
Women's Directory of Montreal, 1919. 
Yearbooks of Various Foreign Cities and Countries. 

Australia — Statistics for the years 1901-13. 
Japan, 1916. 

Statesman's Year Book. London. 
Young, Evangeline W. — Progress in the Treatment of Illegitimacy. 

Medical Review of Reviews, May, 1915. 
Laws Concerning Children Born Out oe Wedlock — (The so-called 
Castberg Law). Published by: 

The Chicago Women's Club. 
Women's City Club of Chicago. 
Chicago Women's Aid Society. 
-•f Eugenics Education Aid Society. 



INDEX 



Abortion 80 

Abortionist, methods of 80 

Adoption, of illegititimate 

children 84 

Massachusetts law on ....151 
Through maternity homes 84 
Advertisements by maternity 

homes 83 

Age of consent 134-144 

evolution of law on 141 

meaning of 135 

proper 139 

reasons for 136-8 

(relation of, to sex in- 
struction 139 

Age of consent law 135 

grading of punishment 

under 144 

in England 134 

in the U. S 143 

provisions of 140 

qualified age limits in ....142 

Age of putative fathers 76 

Age of unmarried mothers 60, 63 

Alcohol 55 

Almshouses, illegitimate births 

in 44 

Aronovici, Carol 45 

Australia, illegitimacy in ....38, 62 

pre-nuptial relations in ....38 

Austria, guardianship law in....l69 

Baby-farm , 88 

Baden, age of unmarried 

mothers in 60 

Baltimore, home conditions 

of unmarried mothers in....47 
Bastard, discrimination 

against 129 

Bastardy law, administration 

of, 152-167 

enforcement of 153 



nature of 152 

suits brought under 154 

weaknesses of 167 

Bavaria, 

illegitimacy and religion in 72 
relation in, of illegitim- 
acy to city life 73 

Berlin, illegitimacy and occu- 
pation in 64 

Betrothals 38 

Birth registration, methods of 147 

model law on 146 

Birth registration area ....14, 23 

Borosini 75, 131, 168 

Boston, home conditions of 

unmarried mothers in 50 

illegitimacy in 19, 33 

putative fathers in 78 

religious affiliations of 

unmarried mothers in 72 

Boston Conference on Illegit- 
imacy 50, 104, 156 

Breast feeding 110 

Broken homes 48 

Buda-Pesth 39 

Bureau of the Census 20 

Cash settlements 160 

Catholicism 72 

Census, Bureau of the 20 

Chicago, bastardy cases in ....157 

birth registration in 147 

broken homes among un- 
married mothers in 49 

disappearance of babies in 89 

illegitimacy in 33 

maternity homes in 33 

Chicago Juvenile Protective • 

Association 89 

Child desertion law 170 

Child-caring agencies, meth- 
ods of 103 



(203) 



204 



University of Missouri Studies 



Children, illegitimate. See il- 
legitimate children 

Children's Bureau 22, 27 

Christian Service League 128 

Church, sex and moral edu- 
cation by 189 

Cincinnati, putative fathers in 77 
Cities, rate of illegitimacy in 73 
Civil procedure in bastardy 

cases 154 

Cleveland, occupations of un- 
married mother in 69 

Colo,rado, age of consent in 141 
Commercial maternity homes 

34, 82 

Common law marriage, argu- 
ment against 29, 174 

legality of 29 

prohibition of 174 

Compensation under bastardy 

laws 156 fie 

Conferences on illegitimacy ....108 

Confinement, place of 33 

Connecticut 16 

Country life and illegitimacy 73 
Crime, bastardy classified as, 
in Pennsylvania and 

Massachusetts 153 

Criminal procedure in bas- 
tardy oases 153 

Criminality among illegiti- 
mate children 130 

Crittenton homes 97 

Defectives, age of consent 

law applied to 187 

compulsory commitment 

of 187 

control of 186 

Delaware, age of consent law 

in 135 

Delinquency, juvenile, among 

illegitimate children 130 

Desertion law, child 170 



Discrimination against bas- 
tards 129 

District of Columbia, regis- 
tration o£ illegitimate 

births in 147 

Domestic relations courts 164 

Domestic service, relations of, 

to illegitimacy 68ff. 

improved status of 192 

Double standard of morals 2, 5-7 

Drahms, August 130 

Dresden, guardianship of il- 
legitimate children in 168 

D'runkfiinness 55 

Engel, Sigmund 131 

England, age of consent in 140 
common law marriage 

abollished in , 4^ 

decline of illegitimacy in 17 

infant mortality in 120 

rate of illegitimacy in 17 

English Poor Law Commis- 
sion 48, 97, 122, 166 

Europe, illegitimacy in 28 

Exceptio plurium concuben- 

tium 161 

principle of, abolished in 

Norway 18a 

Fathers, putative, age of 76 

civil conditions of 77 

occupations of, in Boston 78 
occupations of, in St. 

Louis 78. 

Feeble-mindedness, control of 185 
hereditary character of —.43 

in Virginia 43 

institutional care of 186 

relation of, to illegitimacy 41 
Females, excess of marriage- 
able 75 

Foreign-born, illegitimacy 

among 21, 25 

Foundling asylum 92 

Foundlings 110 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 



205 



France, delinquency among 

illegitimate children in ....130 

illegitimacy in 73 

Napoleonic Code modi- 
fied in 153 

German Civil Code 166 

Germany, guardianship plan 

in 118 

illegitimacy in 28, 64-67 

infant mortality in 118 

occupations of unmarried 
mothers in 64 

Girls' Protective Association, 

St. Ivouis 54 

Goddard, H. H 43 

Guardianship, public, of il- 
legitimate children 168 

in Austria 169 

in Germany 169 

in Minnesota 170 

Healey, Dr 56 

Heredity, relation of, to il- 
legitimacy 36 

Home conditions among un- 
married mothers 48ff. 

in Baltimore 47 

in Boston 50 

in Philadelphia 50 

unwholesome 50 

Home training, defective 47 

Homes, broken, among un- 
married mothers 50 

Hospitals, maternity 98 

municipal 94 

private 98 

rehabilitation methods of 
95, 99 

Housing conditions, among 

the poor 52 

need of improving 193 

Ignorance, illegitimacy due to 48 

Illegitimacy, attitude toward .— 1 

causes of 36fif. 

causes of, in Europe 36 



computation of rates of ....15 
decline of, in England ....17 

increase in 26 

rate of: according to race 21 

among foreign born 21 

in Australia 38, 62 

in Europe 28 

in Ontario 74 

in registration area 21 

in U. S 14-27 

in various cities 23 

relation to, of domestic 

service 68 

of drunkenness 55 

of feeble-mindedness ....41 
of home conditions ....47, 50 

of ignorance 48 

of low ideals 49 

of occupation 64 

of overcrowding 51 

of proportion of un- 

rr^arried persons 75 

status of abolished, in 

North Dakota 128 

in Norway, 179 

Illegitimate birth, conceal- 
ment of record of 146 

early records of 15 

in Europe 28 

in United States 14-27 

registration of 21 

still births among 116 

Illegitimate children, applica- 
tion of desertion law 170 

dependency of 125 

diseases among 120-1 

inheritance of 177 

mortality among 119 

public guardianship of ....168 

right of, to father's name 179 

Immorality, prevention of ....184 

Indiana, baby farms in 88 

supervision of maternity 
homes in 150 



^■J-J 



University of Missouri Studies 



Infant mortality among ille- 
gitimate children 118 

causes of 122-4 

Infirmary, state, in Massa- 
chusetts 45 

Inheritance, North Dakota 

law on 178 

Norwegian law on 179 

right of illegitimate child 

to 177 

Ireland 53, 71 

Jews, illegitimacy among 39, 72 
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, il- 
legitimacy in 25 

Juvenile Protective Associa- 
tion, Chicago 89, 157 

Kammerer, causes of illegiti- 
macy according to 57 

on age of unmarried moth- 
ers 62 

on occupations of unmar- 
ried mothers 69 

Lange, August 65 

Lefifingwell, Dr 36, 71 

Legislative reform 145-183 

Legislation, age of consent 185 

birth registration 146 

to prohibit common law 

marriage 174 

to provide equal inherit- 
ance 177 

Legitimation, amount of 130, 175 

in Europe 175 

in North Dakota 176 

laws relating to 176 

Legitimate births, still births 

among 116 

Legitimate children, infant 

mortality among 119 

Leipsic, guardianship of il- 
legitimate children in ....168 

Leisure time, control of 191 

efifects of unsupervised ....53 



Lindner, on relation of ille- 
gitimacy to religious af- 
filiation 71 

London 73 

Low ideals 49 

Magdalen homes, feeble- 
mindedness in 46 

Marriage, common law 29, 40, 174 
of parents of illegitimate 
child Ill 

Massachusetts, adoption law 

in 127 

bastardy law in 153 

illegitimacy in 15 

Massachusetts state board of 
charity, care of unmar- 
ried mothers by 83 

births in 33 

charges of ...i 85 

commercial 82 

supervision of 150 

Maternity hospitals, social 

service methods of 99 

Mental defectiveness, exam- 
ination for 42, 45 

Mentality, and illegitimacy 42, 132 
low 41 

Michigan, registration of 

births in 18 

Migration of unmarried mo- 
thers 31 

Milwaukee 69 

Minnesota, bastardy law in 169 
provision for return to 
state of fugitive father ....159 
recording illegitimate 

births in 149 

state board of c'ontrol in 162 

Missouri, legislation in .....180 

Missouri Children's Code 
Commission, measures 
proposed by 181 

Missouri School of Social 

Economy 51, 126 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 



207 



Moral Responsibility, age of 134 
Mothers, age of unmarried 60, 62 
occupation of unmarried 68-70 
Mothers' and babies' home 107 
Mothers' Pension law, ser- 
vice of, to unmarried 

mothers 181 

Munich, delinquent girls in ....131 
Napoleonic Code, inquiry into 

paternity prohibited by ....152 
Nebraska, Supreme Court of 142 
Negroes, illegitimacy among 

21, 60 

migrations among 33 

New M.exico, age of consent 

law in 187 

New York, dependent child- 
ren in 125 

Nixon, J. W 38, 70 

North Dakota, status of ille- 
gitimacy abolished in ....178 
Norway, advanced legislation 

in 178 

status of illegitimacy ab- 
olished in 179 

Occupations of unmarried 

mothers, in Baden 66 

in Berlin 64 

in Cleveland 69 

in St. Louis 69 

in United States 68 

Ohio 60, 74 

Ohio Supreme Court 135 

Ontario, illegitimacy in 74 

statistics of towns in 74 

Overcrowding 51 

Paternal support of illegiti- 
mate child, need of laws 

enforcing 156 

Paternity, determination of 153 ff. 
Pennsylvania, bastardy law in 153 
Pension and insurance laws, 
provision for illegitimate 
children under ,173 



Pensions, mothers' 173 

Persons, C. E 57 

Philadelphia, bastardy cases 

in 159 

race distribution of un- 
married mothers in 25 

statistics in, relating to 

putative fathers 76 

Placing out of illegitimate 

children, value of 105 

Pregnancy, first 30-1 

Pre-natal care 109 

Pre-nuptial relations, in Aus- 
tralia 38 

in Germany 38 

Preventive work 184 

Previous immorality 30 

Prostitutes, illegitimate origin 

of 131 

Protestant countries 72 

Public dance halls, relation of, 

to illegitimacy 53, 192 

Putative fathers. See Fathers. 

Rape 135 

Rate of illegitimacy, decrease 

of, in England 17 

how computed 15 

in Europe 38 

in United States 27 

records of the 15 

Recreation, need of 191 

unwholesome, and ille- 
gitimacy 53 

Registration of illegitimate 
births, in District of Co- 
lumbia 147 

in Missouri 146 

need of 148 

practice concerning, in 

various cities 149 

Rehabilitation, of unmarried 

mothers llOff. 

failure to effect 112 



208 



University of Missouri Studies 



Religion and rate of illegiti- 
macy 73 

Religious training, general ef- 
fects of 58 

need of 97 

Rescue homes, character of ....96 

English 98 

Royal Commission on Poor 

Laws, English 122 

opinion by, on rescue 

homes 97 

recommendations of, re- 
lating to care of illegiti- 
mate children 166 

Russia 176 

St. Louis, broken homes in ....126 

illegitimacy in 23-4 

migration of unmarried 

mothers in 31 

occupation of unmarried 

mothers in 69 

putative fathers in 78 

Salvation Army rescue homes 97 

Sanitaria, purpose of 126 

well-to-do girls in 127 

Schools, social centers in ....191 

sex instruction in 189 

Segregation of feeble-minded 187 
Settlement laws and migra- 
tion of mothers 163 

Sex impulse 10 

Sex instruction, need of 188 

Sex irregularity 30 

Sex necessity 8 

Sex pervert, treatment of ....187 

Sexual suggestibility 10, 56 

Single standard of morals ....189 

Social centers 191 

Social hygiene societies 190 

Standard, double, argument 

against 8 

reasons for existence of 5fT. 

Sterilization, of perverts 187 

Still births, causes of 117 



number among illegiti- 
mate 116 

proportion of, to all births 116 
Syphilis, among illegitimate 

children 120 

among unmarried mothers 30 

Toronto 74 

Townley-Fullam 39, 72 

Tredgold, Dr 46 

Trounstine, Helen 128 

United States, age of consent 

in 143 

age of unmarried mothers 

in 60-62 

birth registration in 15, 21 

illegitimacy in 14-27 

pension and insurance 

law in 172 

relation in, of urban and 
rural life to illegitimacy ....74 

still births in 116 

United States Children's Bu- 
reau 22 

Unmarried fathers. See Fathers. 
Unmarried mothers, age of 60-62 

diseases among 30 

home conditions of 48ff. 

mentality of 46 

migration of 31 

occupational distribution 

of 68 

previous sex irregularity 

of 30 

rehabilitation of llOff. 

separation of babies from 128 

well-to-do 127 

Virginia, illegitimate families 

in 44 

Virginia iState Board of Char- 
ities, Report by, on 

feeble-mindedness 43 

Virtue 8 

Washington, D. C, birth reg- 
istration in 147 



Children Born Out of Wedlock 209 

still births in 116 among 24 

unmarried mothers in 60 William the Conqueror 140 

Weidensall, Jean 41, 45 Wisconsin Vice Committee —.69 

White population in United World War, effect of, on il- 

States, illegitimate births legitimacy 58 



n.Ai' 3 io"ii 



u 



UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI STUDIES 



SOCIAL SCIENCE SERIES 

VOLUME I 

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Ph. D., Professor of Economics and Finance, pp. xviii, 
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